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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27535057">We've Been Waiting for You</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterRose527/pseuds/WinterRose527'>WinterRose527</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Game of Thrones (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, I know people are going to slut shame myrcella, I would say the story no one asked for, Multi, Roommates, SO, Stalker, Threesome, and all of us probably are devoid of flirtation and romance and sex, and it's ramsay, and no one is meeting anyone knew, and yes, because she has a, but like, but one person actually did ask for it, but we are going back into quarantine, can't decide if it's going to be a slow burn, except it's not all fluf, if you could, just likely didn't expect it'd develop into an actual story, maybe it won't, not great, or a fast scorch, she's doing it, so like, this is how I deal with it, we shall see, who gives a shit, who knows - Freeform, yes - Freeform, you would</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:09:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>99,876</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27535057</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterRose527/pseuds/WinterRose527</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Title is from the Three's Company theme song because how could I not?</p><p>Please heed the tags. This is supposed to be silly and fun and the sweeter side of a threesome -- an underdeveloped genre of fic in my opinion -- it's not going to be realistic or important but I hope you have fun and be kind in the comments. Things are rough right now and if this isn't for you - I don't need to know that or why.</p><p>***</p><p> </p><p>This is a story about a boy and a girl. And another boy. </p><p>It isn’t one of those kinds of stories though. No demons, werewolves, or any other creatures that go bump in the night, though our characters sometimes do.</p><p> It’s not a tragedy either, even though young love so often is. </p><p>It shares elements with those stories. A beautiful girl, and two best friends, proximity and perhaps a bit of fate. It’s a story of friendship and desire, and most of all a story of the courage that it takes to fall in love, and the courage being in love gives in return.</p><p>But forget all of that now, for some time yet…</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jon Snow &amp; Robb Stark, Jon Snow/Robb Stark, Myrcella Baratheon &amp; Jon Snow, Myrcella Baratheon &amp; Robb Stark, Myrcella Baratheon/Jon Snow, Myrcella Baratheon/Jon Snow/Robb Stark, Myrcella Baratheon/Robb Stark, slowburn - Relationship</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>285</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>100</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>She had been told the North was grey, a vast wasteland full of leafless trees and graceless people. That it was cold and bitter and, worst of all, provincial. But as the plane fell beneath the clouds, all Myrcella saw was white. Brilliant, pure white. An unsullied country.</p><p> </p><p>Her mother had been right about the vastness. The white seemed to stretch on for miles and miles. The cold too, she had not overestimated. The wind though was soemthing she had not expected, and it nearly swept her backwards as she exited the doors of the Wintertown International Airport.</p><p> </p><p>A taxi appeared quickly and she hopped inside, giving the address she had memorized on the plane to the driver.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>437 Weir Street.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The pace the driver drove at was unsettling. In King’s Landing they hardly let you close the door before they were speeding off, weaving in and out of lanes regardless of whether it gained them any ground, shouting at other drivers, pedestrians, and the gods themselves. Her driver, <em>Cal, </em>his badge said, drove at a nearly leisurely pace, his hands at 10 and 2.</p><p> </p><p>It had been her experience that a city from the sky bore no resemblance to the one on the ground. Wintertown seemed the exception that proved the rule.</p><p> </p><p>Ancient stone structures covered in snow gave way to comfortable looking cafes and shops. The driver turned down Wight Avenue and the homes turned nearly palatial. Unlike the mansions of King’s Landing, which served only to intimidate or spark envy, these provided one with a sense of contentment. Their very existence a defiance of time, a sturdiness that served as reassurance.</p><p> </p><p>The driver turned onto Weir and the homes once again became townhouses, brick and stone, painted red and black and white, a powder blue and a stubborn pale pink.</p><p> </p><p>“437 Weir,” the driver said as he pulled in front of the grey stone townhouse she recognized.</p><p> </p><p>The moving truck parked in front was a cause for annoyance. Less than the front door being ajar, indicating that the crew had already began unloading.</p><p> </p><p>Her move had been an exercise in logistics. She didn’t want to go a night without a bed, but neither did she want to impose on her new roommates by having her things being unloaded before she’d arrived. Most moving crews had given gruff responses when she’d asked them to narrow their arrival time window, but this company had been recommended as the same crew that had moved the former occupant of her room out of it. They’d seemed happy enough to agree to her plan, but had failed to see it through.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” she said to Cal and handed him cash to cover the fare and a tip that would make her mother’s head explode.</p><p> </p><p>He thanked her profusely and she got out of the car, being careful not to slip on the slush that awaited her. She waved to the man sitting in the moving truck and walked up the front path. It was a short four steps into the small landing.</p><p> </p><p>The townhouse had been broken into apartments, on the first floor there were two and then the second and third floors were floor-throughs. Her new home was on the second floor, so she started heading up the stairs.</p><p> </p><p>“Yuh if we get’er done soon we can make the game,” one large guy said to his companion as they came thundering down the stairs.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella flattened herself against the wall and the guys nearly fell over themselves when they saw her.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry, miss,” the first one said.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s alright,” she said and then straightened up, “Are you moving things into floor two?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” the second one confirmed, “Are you -“</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella Baratheon,” she introduced herself.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re nearly finished,” the first one said, “One of the guys is in your bedroom setting up your bed - so don’t be afraid. He’s big but harmless, and uh we’re just going to get some more boxes now.”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded her head once and they took that as all the permission they needed. It had been a habit she’d picked up as a child, one she’d tried at different times to erase from her muscle memory.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella continued up the stairs and knocked as loud as she was able on the sturdy oak door.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s open!,” someone called.</p><p> </p><p>She turned the door knob and it gave way, and brought her into a generously sized foyer. There were hooks on one side of it that had a couple of jackets and leashes hanging from them, boots underneath. To the left she could see a kitchen and to her right a closed door.</p><p> </p><p>She peered in the kitchen but it was empty so she went towards the noise. Before she could get to it, she found herself in a large living room. It looked exactly like the pictures. A couch, an oversized armchair, a love seat and then a desk in the corner. Large windows and wood floors.</p><p> </p><p>Just like in the pictures, the room was empty.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello?,” she called.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh!,” she heard from the open room, “We’re in your room.”</p><p> </p><p>She walked towards the voice and saw a state of chaos. There was as expected a very large guy putting together her bed, but there were also two others, smaller than the first though significantly larger than her, helping him.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi, I’m Myrcella…,” she introduced herself.</p><p> </p><p>The large guy grunted at her but one of the others turned. His blue eyes wandered over her as though trying to place her. It took her no time at all to place him.</p><p> </p><p>“Robb?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>He looked at her for a moment longer before he blinked out of it and a wide, friendly smile overtook his face, “Hey, I’d hug you hello but…”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re holding my bed?,” she suggested.</p><p> </p><p>“I was going to say I’m sweaty but yeah, that works,” he nodded and then nodded his head towards the other guy, “This is Jon.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” Jon said, and though he didn’t smile the way Robb had, his eyes seemed to. “Flight okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“Easy peasy,” she assured him and then her brow furrowed, “I’m so sorry. I had…,” she started to say and then realized that one of the movers was still in the room, so changed the sentiment to, “Wanted to be here in time.”</p><p> </p><p>“You were,” Jon said, “We saw them outside and offered for them to get started. Supposed to get a big storm later… I hope that’s alright.”</p><p> </p><p>She laughed, “Are you able to change the weather if it isn’t?”</p><p> </p><p>Robb chuckled, “He meant he hopes it’s okay that we had them start before you got here. If you don’t like how things are set up we can help you move it around.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” she realized, feeling like a moron, “No it’s perfect I’m just sorry you were inconvenienced. But this is a great spot for the bed.”</p><p> </p><p>“If you’re a morning person,” Jon suggested.</p><p> </p><p>“I am,” she confirmed.</p><p> </p><p>“Told you,” Robb mumbled and she bit her lip to keep from laughing.</p><p> </p><p>“Can I do something?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“We got it,” Jon told her steadily.</p><p> </p><p>“There’s water in the fridge and uh…coffee on…right?,” Robb asked Jon. Jon nodded so Robb turned back to her, “Take a look around the place and grab something to drink, we’ll be done with this in a minute, won’t we Umber?”</p><p> </p><p>The man grunted at Robb again in such a way that it felt like he’d just uttered a curse word. Robb looked at her and gave her a caught expression and she grinned and left the room.</p><p> </p><p>There wasn’t really much to look around. She wasn’t going to go into their rooms so she walked back into the living room and took off her coat. She walked back down the hall and hung it up on one of the hooks and then took off her boots. She looked down the hall to make sure she hadn’t tracked in snow and then went into the kitchen.</p><p> </p><p>It had a sweet breakfast nook with a large bay window and a newspaper on the table. She saw the coffee maker and went towards the cabinet, knowing that in spite of the work that the movers - and Jon and Robb apparently - were doing, she had a long night of unpacking ahead of her.</p><p> </p><p>The other two movers walked in carrying boxes and she heard a large thud as the set them on the floor and then walked back out.</p><p> </p><p>She opened the cupboard and went to grab a mug. As she pulled out a black one she saw that it had a <em>J </em>on it. Out of curiosity she pulled out a grey one and saw <em>R </em>on it.</p><p> </p><p>Her body internally squealed at how adorable that was but she tried her best to maintain her composure.</p><p> </p><p>She poured some coffee in her mug and added a bit of sugar from the bowl before taking a large sip. She walked towards the bay window and couldn’t help but smile as she looked out of it. The street looked so cozy, covered in snow, and there were people walking hand in hand, a car or two driving by but nothing like King’s Landing.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh good, you found the mugs,” a deep Northern voice said behind her.</p><p> </p><p>“I stole one of yours,” she admitted, turning to find Jon opening the fridge.</p><p> </p><p>Jon’s eyes widened and he explained quickly, “Robb’s Mum got ‘em for us. J for… Jon and…”</p><p> </p><p>“R for Robb?,” she supplied, “I cracked the code.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon smirked, “Well done.”</p><p> </p><p>“I really am…sorry,” she repeated. “I hope I didn’t inconvenience you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t give it another thought,” Jon told her, holding her gaze until she nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Good coffee,” she told him.</p><p> </p><p>“We get it from a place around the corner,” Jon told her, “I can show you tomorrow… if you want, not sure what you’ve got on. They serve food too, which is really good.”</p><p> </p><p>The words didn’t come naturally to him. It was clear even as he was saying them that he was surprised to be doing so.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t want him to feel beholden so she smiled and gave a non-committal, “Every neighborhood needs a good coffee shop.”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded and scratched his cheek and the movers came in once again and another thud told her more boxes had been placed down.</p><p> </p><p>Jon drained his water and said, “Well I should get back in there…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, no! You don’t have to do that,” she said, following him towards the hall.</p><p> </p><p>He turned around and seemed a bit surprised that she had nearly caught up with him. He did that eye-smile once again and she felt the coffee warm her from the inside.</p><p> </p><p>“The more Robb and I do the quicker they’ll be out of here, they charge by the hour and -,” he started but she cut him off.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s really okay,” she assured him, not wanting to sound obnoxious by saying she wasn’t worried about the money.</p><p> </p><p>Though she was determined to pay the rent by herself from her new job, her moving expenses were coming out of the trust she’d gained access to earlier that year.</p><p> </p><p>“We can’t sit around while they work,” Jon told her and her brow must have furrowed and he gave his first tease of an actual smile, “Just say okay.”</p><p> </p><p>She felt her smile as she answered, “Okay.”</p><p> </p><p>He all but tipped his cap to her and walked down the hallway. She took another sip of her coffee and closed her eyes for a moment.</p><p> </p><p>“Tired?,” another voice asked.</p><p> </p><p>“No, sorry, just spacing,” she opened her eyes and saw Robb standing there.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon’s company does it to me too,” he confirmed and she laughed. He scrunched his nose at her and shook his head, “It’s weird. You look exactly the same and totally different all at the same time.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiled, “So do you.”</p><p> </p><p>It was peculiar almost. If someone had asked her a week ago what Robb Stark would look like as an adult she wouldn’t have been able to guess, but if she’d seen him randomly across a crowded room there’d be no mistaking who it was.</p><p> </p><p>His hair was the same russet curls, though they were cropped closer to his head than they had been when she’d last seen him. His eyes the same astonishing blue. He’d always been taller than her, a giant of an eight year old to her undersized at six. He had been lanky then, but he’d filled out. He was still lean, but there was a sturdiness to him that reminded her of the structures she’d passed on her way here - those stubborn Northern things.</p><p> </p><p>She hadn’t seen him since she was eight and he ten. Their fathers had a falling out around that time and so the second summer they’d spent together had ended up being their last.</p><p> </p><p>Since her parent’s divorce and her father’s rehab he had been reaching out and making amends, and Ned Stark had been top of his list. She’d noticed a change in him after the very first call. It was the first time he ate his dinner without complaining of the taste.</p><p> </p><p>After that Ned’s name found its way into conversations and a few months back her father had come North to ask for forgiveness in person. As the story went, Ned had given it without hesitation or flourish, and so a couple months later when her father told him about her new job, Ned had made it his mission to make sure she was well taken care of in the North.</p><p> </p><p>It had started with a text from Robb, re-introducing himself and asking if she needed help finding an apartment. He’d set her up with a real estate agent he knew and a week into her search she’d gotten another text from him: <em>Hey, no pressure - totally get if you want your own space or a different situation - but one of my roommates - Theon, not sure if you remember him - is moving out at the end of next month. The room is yours if you want it. I’ll text you some pictures after he cleans it — though we’d fumigate after don’t worry.</em></p><p> </p><p>She’d been thinking of getting her own place, but she was also determined not to dip into her trust too much and with her non-profit salary having roommates made sense. The rent was dirt cheap for what it was, and so she’d quickly called off the search.</p><p> </p><p>She had never had boy roommates, but if she’d survived Joffrey she could handle just about anyone. And Robb had always been kind.</p><p> </p><p>“They’ll be out of here in just a few minutes,” Robb said and then asked, “Did Jon show you the bathroom?”</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head and he walked into the hallway so she followed him and they walked towards the living room, past her bedroom, past another door and then he opened the door to the bathroom.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ve got the half-bath in your room, but this is where the shower is and what not, we cleared some shelf space for you,” he said.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh thank you,” she said, and then waved him off, “But I can just keep my things in my bathroom.”</p><p> </p><p>“Whatever you want,” Robb nodded and then looked at her and grinned, “But you do pay rent here now. You don’t have to be afraid to take up space.”</p><p> </p><p>She had never had someone so perfectly or so casually sum up her feelings for her.</p><p> </p><p>It was odd, most people found her hard to read. Or misread her so egregiously that they had taken qualities she did not possess to be her most defining ones.</p><p> </p><p>She opened her mouth to thank him - for the shelves, and setting up her bed, and inviting her to live here, and for being the son of the man who’d given her father the forgiveness he so sorely needed - but the guys came out of her bedroom.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re all set, Miss,” the man who’d first addressed her on the stairs said.</p><p> </p><p>“Great!,” she turned and smiled, “Let me just grab my bag and we’ll get you on your way to that game.”</p><p> </p><p>She smirked to herself as she saw the men shuffling awkwardly and walked down the hallway to get her bag. The men followed her and she took out her wallet.</p><p> </p><p>“How much do I owe you?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“$250 even,” he said.</p><p> </p><p>Her jaw nearly hit the floor. This job would have been $1,000 down South. It was so inexpensive that she didn’t even tease them about Robb and Jon helping.</p><p> </p><p>She had taken out far too much cash so she gave him the $250 and an obscene tip - even for her - and sent them on their way.</p><p> </p><p>She put her wallet back in her bag and walked into the living room where Jon and Robb were sitting. Trying to take Robb’s advice, she went and sat on the loveseat, the only piece of furniture not occupied.</p><p> </p><p>“So uh…,” Jon started, “I know you just got here but do you mind if we bring them out? They’ll be going crazy in my room.”</p><p> </p><p>She looked at him for a moment and then remembered, “Oh the dogs! Yes, yes of course…”</p><p> </p><p>That had been the one ‘catch’ Robb had warned her about. Two large dogs. One was his and one was Jon’s.</p><p> </p><p>She had never lived with dogs before, her Mother didn’t care for them, but she had always admired them from afar. She secretly believed that she was a dog person who had just never had a dog, not that she’d ever tell Ser Pounce such a thing.</p><p> </p><p>Jon got out of the arm chair and walked to the room in between hers and the bathroom and opened the door, saying in a warning tone, “Easy.”</p><p> </p><p>A moment later she had a snout in her face and one at her feet.</p><p> </p><p>“Grey Wind,” Robb said sternly and the dog sniffing her face backed up a centimeter or two.</p><p> </p><p>“Ghost, leave her alone,” Jon ordered and the white one at her feet stopped sniffing and sat down.</p><p> </p><p>She turned towards Robb, “Can I?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah you’d know by now if he was gonna take a chomp out of you,” Robb assured her.</p><p> </p><p>She turned towards the grey dog and looked into a pair of amber eyes, reaching her hand out tentatively and petting his head. His eyes closed and something similar to a purr emitted from him, so she scratched behind his ears and she heard a thumping.</p><p> </p><p>“Wow, that was quick,” Jon said. “Found the spot.”</p><p> </p><p>She scratched Grey Wind again and then turned to Ghost. He had startling red eyes but he was sitting still as a statue, clearly the more obedient and less gregarious of the two.</p><p> </p><p>“And what about you?,” she asked in a voice she’d never heard. He opened his mouth in almost a smile but she still held her hand out tentatively for him to sniff and was encouraged when he pressed his snout against it. She took that as a sign that she could pet him and was surprised by how soft his fur was. As she was petting Ghost she felt Grey Wind’s snout under her arm and she turned and grinned, “Okay handsome, I didn’t forget about you.”</p><p> </p><p>She pet Ghost with her right hand and Grey Wind with her left, and looked at Jon and Robb, “Guess I can stay?”</p><p> </p><p>Jon chuckled, “Yeah I think that’s a safe bet.”</p><p> </p><p>“They’ll probably send us packing before you,” Robb confirmed.</p><p> </p><p>She gasped in faux surprise and turned towards Ghost and Grey Wind, “You wouldn’t do that, would you?”</p><p> </p><p>But something from the way Grey Wind licked her face and Ghost laid his head in her lap told her they just might.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jon and Robb stood in the kitchen in silence. This wasn’t entirely unusual for them, Jon wasn’t much for idle chit chat unless Robb could get him going on a certain topic, and the apartment had been quieter since Theon and all his boisterous rhetoric had left a couple weeks earlier.</p><p> </p><p>“So,” Robb said.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Jon nodded.</p><p> </p><p>The pair of them looked at each other for a long moment, and he wondered if Jon was angry with him.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, do you guys have a box cutter?,” Myrcella asked as she came into the kitchen.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah we’ve got a couple,” Robb nodded as Jon, who was closer, reached into the drawer to grab it for her. “You need help?”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella shook her head, “No I got it, thanks.” Robb nodded and she smiled at Jon as he handed the box cutter to her. She waved it at them in thanks and turned away before turning back, “Is there a good place for pizza around here?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah there’s a couple good places,” Jon said, “You hungry?”</p><p> </p><p>“Nearing it,” Myrcella confirmed and then suggested, “You guys order? It’s on me…as a thank you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Anything you don’t like?,” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Anchovies,” Myrcella noted.</p><p> </p><p>“Well there goes <em>my </em>Saturday night,” Jon sighed dramatically.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella’s eyes went wide and she looked at him and Robb couldn’t help but wink at her. A blush landed on her cheeks and she smiled and shook her head.</p><p> </p><p>She went to leave the room and then turned back again, pointing the box cutter at them, “Don’t even think about paying.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes ma’am,” he and Jon said in tandem.</p><p> </p><p>She grinned and left the room and they heard her talking to Ghost and Grey Wind in the living room.</p><p> </p><p>Jon sighed.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Robb agreed.</p><p> </p><p>Jon stepped closer to him and Robb looked around, and stepped closer too.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re friends with lots of pretty girls,” Jon reminded him in a serious, quiet tone.</p><p> </p><p>Robb sighed.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Jon agreed.</p><p> </p><p>Robb walked out of the kitchen and into his bedroom across the hall to grab his phone. He dialed their usual pizza place and ordered a large cheese and a large pepperoni and then went into the living room.</p><p> </p><p>There were two furry butts hanging out of Myrcella’s new bedroom.</p><p> </p><p>He poked his head in, “Pizza’ll be here in 30. Are they in your way?”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella was folding some sweaters on her bed and looked over at him, “Oh please, I’m unpacking as quick as I can so that they can actually come in the room.”</p><p> </p><p>He was going to offer to push some boxes around but he realized she was kidding, or half kidding anyway.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m going to turn the game on out here, will uh… that bother you?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“As a wise man once told me - earlier today - <em>don’t be afraid to take up space</em>,” she grinned.</p><p> </p><p>Because he had just indicated his plan to walk away, he had no excuse not to do so now. He watched her a moment longer as she picked the sweaters up off her bed and then slapped the doorway once and sat down on the couch and turned on the game.</p><p> </p><p>Jon came in a minute later holding two beers and handed him one.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you drink beer?,” Jon called.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella appeared a moment later, holding an armful of hair equipment, “Hmm?”</p><p> </p><p>Robb glanced over at Jon and saw him blush, but he managed to repeat, “Do you drink beer? Do you…want one?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” Myrcella shook her head, “Thank you but no, I don’t really have a taste for it.”</p><p> </p><p>“There’s some in the fridge,” Jon told her anyway. “If you change your mind.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella seemed to fight the smile that appeared on her face, though she lost and answered, “Thanks, Jon.”</p><p> </p><p>When it became clear that neither of them were going to say anything to her, Myrcella popped back into her room and the heard the clunk as she must have deposited everything in her hands into a drawer.</p><p> </p><p>Robb glanced at Jon, who was sipping his beer and studiously looking at the television. He must have felt his eyes on him because he looked over.</p><p> </p><p>“What?,” Jon asked gruffly.</p><p> </p><p>Robb raised his eyebrows and shook his head and Jon nodded taking another sip and they both turned their attention back to the game. Wintertown was playing King’s Landing, two players from their team were circling the southerner.</p><p> </p><p>“Get it, get it, come on,” Robb said.</p><p> </p><p>It looked like the one on the left had it, but the King’s Landing player deftly avoided both of theirs and scored.</p><p> </p><p>“For fuck’s sake,” Jon groaned.</p><p> </p><p>The game went on like that. The puck went down the ice one way and then the other. Neither team scored much.</p><p> </p><p>Every so often Ghost or Grey Wind’s head would perk up.</p><p> </p><p>At the end of the second period, the buzzer sounded. Myrcella came out of her bedroom as he got off the couch.</p><p> </p><p>He moved to go towards the door but she rushed ahead of him and buzzed the guy up. His Dad would kill him if he knew that he’d let Myrcella buy him dinner her first night in the city, but something told Robb that Myrcella might just kill him if he didn’t.</p><p> </p><p>She greeted the pizza delivery guy with a smile, and the guy stumbled all over himself to answer her questions about where the restaurant was located and how she could always ask for him if she needed something quick. He didn’t specify the something but it sounded more encompassing than just pizza emergencies.</p><p> </p><p>Jon walked down the hall and took the pizzas from Myrcella’s hands and gave the guy a look that had him mumbling goodbyes.</p><p> </p><p>They went into the kitchen and Robb grabbed plates as Jon set the pizza down on the table.</p><p> </p><p>“Aren’t you guys in the middle of a game?,” Myrcella asked when he and Jon went to sit at the table.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not a good one,” Robb told her.</p><p> </p><p>She nodded and put a piece of cheese pizza on her plate, getting up and grabbing a glass and some water and sat back down.</p><p> </p><p>“How’s the unpacking going?,” he asked her once she’d settled in.</p><p> </p><p>“I own too many things,” she informed them solemnly.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah the shippers mentioned that,” he teased and she giggled and shrugged as though she’d been told much worse about herself.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you guys going out tonight?,” she asked them.</p><p> </p><p>“No plans to,” he said looking at Jon.</p><p> </p><p>Jon shook his head and they looked at one another before Jon offered, “Though if you want to…”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh you’re too sweet,” Myrcella waved him off. Jon visibly started at that. She went on, “But I’ve got too much to do. Might take you up on that offer to check out the coffee shop though tomorrow…”</p><p> </p><p>Now Jon was absolutely not looking at him, he was focused very hard on his pizza but he said, “Sure thing. I’m up early because of Ghost so just… let me know.”</p><p> </p><p>“This is so good,” Myrcella told them, before taking another bite and chewing thoughtfully on it.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah best in the neighborhood for sure,” Robb agreed.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella looked at him and scrunched her eyes slightly before turning to Jon, “So I never asked…what do you do?”</p><p> </p><p>Jon lifted his beer and answered, “I work for Night’s Watch Security.”</p><p> </p><p>“Doing what they advertise or the things we’re not supposed to know about?,” Myrcella asked casually.</p><p> </p><p>Jon all but choked on his beer. Myrcella pressed no further.</p><p> </p><p>“So what’s the job? My Dad said it was at a non-profit but didn’t go further than that…,” Robb gave Jon a chance to recover.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella turned back to him and placed her pizza down, taking a sip of water.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m working with <em>Project Level, </em>I’m going to be their Deputy Officer of Corporate Relations…,” she explained, and then bobbed her head and waved her hand, “Which really means I’ll be shmoozing CEOs, trying to get them to commit to tester programs, that sort of thing.”</p><p> </p><p>He was surprised his Dad hadn’t mentioned that. Stark Industries was one of the corporate sponsors of Project Level and took on more interns from them than any other company in the north. He wasn’t involved with the relationship, but he’d had an intern from the program the last three years. His most recent had just been hired full time.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s a great organization,” Robb nodded, “We just hired one of the alums as a researcher.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella grinned, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, “Yeah, I’m really excited. I met someone who was a part of the program when I was interning at my Uncle Stannis’ company. His CEO was a big supporter and thought it’d be a good fit for me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Davos, right?,” Jon asked.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella turned and nodded, leaning forward conspiratorially, “Total legend, right?”</p><p> </p><p>“Complete,” Jon confirmed.</p><p> </p><p>Robb was going to ask who Davos was but there was a knock on their door. He wondered briefly if it was the pizza delivery guy coming back to profess his love. Closest to the door, he got up and opened it.</p><p> </p><p>There were two pretty girls standing there.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Roslin, Jeyne,” he greeted them.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” Roslin Frey smiled, then pouted, “Our cable is out.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah uh…,” Robb scratched his cheek, “There’s a storm…”</p><p> </p><p>“We’re bored,” Jeyne Poole explained, “And she keeps beating me in cards. Can we hang out with you guys?”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, uh, yeah well you-,” he started.</p><p> </p><p>“Great,” Jeyne grinned and let herself in.</p><p> </p><p>There was very little he could do to stop this, considering she was Sansa’s best friend. He’d grown up with her barging into rooms following his sister, so he hadn’t known how to curb the habit of allowing it when she’d moved in.</p><p> </p><p>It hadn’t been helped by the fact that Roslin had started sleeping with Theon, so the two of them were used to just being around. Even more so when Theon had stopped sleeping with Roslin and started sleeping with Jeyne.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” Roslin said as they walked into the kitchen. “You must be the new roommate.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella confirmed that, “Hey, I’m Myrcella Baratheon.”</p><p> </p><p>“Roslin Frey,” Roslin introduced herself and her roommate, “And this is Jeyne Poole. We live just downstairs.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella smiled, “It’s nice to meet you both. Do you want some pizza? There’s tons.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, no I’m on a diet, thanks,” Roslin said.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m <em>not</em>,” Jeyne said and Myrcella smiled more warmly at her.</p><p> </p><p>Robb grabbed Jeyne a plate as she sat down and Roslin hovered awkwardly near the table.</p><p> </p><p>“Ooh come sit here,” Myrcella hopped up.</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t have to -,” Jon started.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella waved him off, “I’ve got <em>loads </em>of unpacking to do. It was really nice to meet you guys, I’m sure I’ll see you around loads.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah we hang out with the boys all the time,” Roslin informed her.</p><p> </p><p>“Lucky you,” Myrcella smiled and then walked over to the sink and rinsed her plate off and put it in the dishwasher before exiting stage right as quickly as she could.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want a beer, Jeyney?,” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes please,” Jeyne said politely.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you have any vodka?,” Roslin asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Nope,” Jon said. Though they had at least two bottles in the bar.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll go grab some from ours,” Roslin said. “I’m thinking <em>shots</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s 6 PM,” he pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s <em>Saturday</em>,” she corrected.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re both making some great points,” Jeyne teased them as she handed him her beer back so that he could open it.</p><p> </p><p>Roslin left and came back a moment later with a bottle of vodka. Jeyne grabbed shot glasses and he and Jon both reluctantly took one and tossed it back.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s play a game,” Roslin suggested.</p><p> </p><p>“I thought you wanted to watch tv,” Jon reminded her.</p><p> </p><p>“Play nice in the sandbox,” Jeyne suggested.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s my sandbox,” Jon pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re watching the hockey game if you guys want to hang out,” Robb told the girls.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m bringing the vodka,” Roslin warned him with a grin.</p><p> </p><p>He was pretty sure that he heard Jon mumble <em>congratulations </em>under his breath but he headed back into the living room. Myrcella had closed her door and he felt a bit guilty. She didn’t seem the sort to need coddling, but it was her first night. They’d have taken her out if she’d wanted to go, but at the very least they could help her unpack or kept her company.</p><p> </p><p>So far all she’d asked for was a box cutter and the wifi password.</p><p> </p><p>Jon and the girls came back in, Jon took his seat back in the arm chair and Roslin sat down next to him on the couch. Jeyne stretched out on the loveseat.</p><p> </p><p>King’s Landing had scored again while they were eating. The game was nearly over, and Roslin had brought the shot glasses so he accepted another one, tossing it back and chasing it with his beer. He didn’t really see the point in getting drunk sitting in his living room, but he finished his beer anyway.</p><p> </p><p>When the game ended, Roslin convinced Jon to give her the remote and she turned on a sitcom rerun that he and Jon had seen a million times. It was funny enough to have on as they chatted a bit. Jeyne told him that Sansa had sent her a postcard from her honeymoon in Volantis, which caused Roslin to interrupt to say that Volantis was <em>so </em>overcrowded with tourists.</p><p> </p><p>Things went on like this for a while before Robb excused himself to go to the bathroom. He didn’t even need to he just wanted an excuse to stand up. He stood in there for a moment before leaving. </p><p> </p><p>Robb exited the bathroom, wiping his wet hands on his corduroys. He knew that he ought to walk back into the living room, but he could hear Alice Smith playing from Myrcella’s bedroom and could see the light underneath the door so he knocked.</p><p> </p><p>“Come in,” she called and he entered her room.</p><p> </p><p>It looked different already from when Theon had lived there. They’d hired a professional cleaning service to disinfect everything, but you’d never know it had needed it from the gauzy curtains and the fluffy duvet cover and the little vanity in the corner of the room, neat little perfume bottles resting on top of it.</p><p> </p><p>“Is the music too loud?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>He focused his attention back on her. She’d taken off the sweater she’d been wearing and was in just a white t shirt and slightly over sized jeans. They stopped just before her ankle and her feet were bare, and her hair had been pulled up into a twist.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” he assured her, “This is a great album.”</p><p> </p><p>She looked at her record player and nodded, “Sometimes I like to listen to sad music when I’m happy. Is that weird?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” he answered without thinking.</p><p> </p><p>She turned towards him and let out a laugh. She then grabbed an oak box and set it down on her bed.</p><p> </p><p>“Pick us out a happy tune, then?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>He suddenly felt too large to be in here. He’d spent hours in here, playing video games with Theon, just hanging out. Her femininity had crept into every corner though, and the floorboards creaked as he stepped towards the bed he’d help put together only hours before.</p><p> </p><p>He started looking through the albums. It was a good collection, she’d impress Jon. He grabbed one and replaced the album.</p><p> </p><p>A moment later, Myrcella turned to him and she quirked her eyebrow.</p><p> </p><p>“You consider <em>Something in the Way </em>a happy tune and <em>I’m </em>the weird one?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>He shrugged, “I’ve never heard the live recording. Besides, the band is Nirvana… happiness is sort of implied, isn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>A slow smile crept on her face and then she lifted a stack of clothes on neat, white hangers off her bed and hung them in her closet.</p><p> </p><p>“My uncle was at this show,” she said as she stood on her tip toes to move a box to the side of one shelf.</p><p> </p><p>She had a beauty mark on her lower back.</p><p> </p><p>“He was?,” Robb asked, looking at the album cover, “That must’ve been…”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Wild</em>,” she confirmed. Then glanced at him, “Shouldn’t you be -“</p><p> </p><p>“Please don’t make me go back out there,” he pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>“That bad?,” Myrcella wondered.</p><p> </p><p>“Why is it that women feel that putting down other women makes them more attractive?,” Robb asked her.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella thought about it for a moment and answered, “Probably for the same reason men think that beating up other men makes them more attractive.”</p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t argue with that so he asked her, “Do you want to be alone?”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Myrcella answered, “That’s alright.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then put me to work,” he suggested.</p><p> </p><p>She tucked an errant wisp of hair behind her ear as she looked around her room.</p><p> </p><p>She gestured to a few large boxes, “Why don’t you unpack the books?”</p><p> </p><p>They were across the room, in front of the large white wicker bookcase. He grabbed a box cutter and pierced through the tape, opening the flaps and grabbed out a stack of books.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you have any particular order?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve never found one I could stick to,” she told him.</p><p> </p><p>“Wherever they can fit, got it,” he confirmed.</p><p> </p><p>He found himself reading the spines as he loaded the first box onto the shelves. She had a thing for the classics, modern and otherwise. <em>In Cold Blood </em>next to <em>Metamorphosis </em>(Ovid’s, not Kafka’s). <em>Jane Eyre </em>and <em>The Shining</em>. James Baldwin and Edith Wharton and poems by Rilke.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re very literate,” he told her.</p><p> </p><p>She laughed from inside her closet, “Since I was four.”</p><p> </p><p>He remembered that about her from the summers they’d spent at the lake. She always had a book with her. Reading chapter books at six.</p><p> </p><p>He broke down the now empty box and opened the next one. He was loading books onto the second shelf when he felt her behind him.</p><p> </p><p>“You sneak! You’re totally making a system!,” she gasped.</p><p> </p><p>“What? No!,” he answered.</p><p> </p><p>“Robb…,” she said and he looked at the shelf.</p><p> </p><p>Sure enough he’d been grouping thematically. It was a tick of his, to group like with like.</p><p> </p><p>“A habit,” he admitted.</p><p> </p><p>She peered over his shoulder, and he could see her eyes wandering over the spines.</p><p> </p><p>That slow smile appeared again, “I like it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Where should this go?,” he asked, proffering a book he’d never heard of.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, this goes on the nightstand,” she said, taking it gently, her fingers whispering against his before she held the book to her chest.</p><p> </p><p>“Marjorie Morningstar?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“My favorite,” she admitted.</p><p> </p><p>Her honesty beckoned his own, “I’ve never heard of it.”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded, “That’s not very surprising,” and turned and walked towards her nightstand and placed it carefully down. “I’m sure your father’s spoken about <em>Winds of War</em>?”</p><p> </p><p>Robb nodded, “Y..Yeah, he loves that book.”</p><p> </p><p>“I think all fathers do,” Myrcella said.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s that one about?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella looked at the book for a moment. It was clear that it was dear to her, perhaps that’s why a description didn’t seem to come easily.</p><p> </p><p>“All the lives girls lead,” she said finally, “Before they allow themselves to become the woman they were destined to be.” That told him almost nothing and absolutely everything all at the same time. As though she knew it she turned and looked at him, “You have sisters. This book is the closest you could ever get to understanding them.”</p><p> </p><p>“And what about you?,” he asked in one sudden breath.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes flicked over to him and she took the book in her hands, “My Uncle Jaime gave this book to me when I was thirteen. It’s been my favorite since I was a girl. I might not be who I am today without it.”</p><p> </p><p>He looked at the women in front of him. The one who’d overcome years of fighting, alcoholic parents, the entire Lannister brood, Joffrey. Who came from nothing but money and yet had taken a job she was overqualified for to help those who hadn’t.</p><p> </p><p>A lovely girl, barefoot listening to records, a beautiful woman, who might just escape the mold.</p><p> </p><p>“Must be quite a book,” he said honestly.</p><p> </p><p>She extended her arm and placed the book at the foot of the bed, her fingers still on it as she looked up at him, “No hard feelings if you can’t last more than a chapter.”</p><p> </p><p>He knew then that he’d read the book cover to cover. It had been a while since he’d had a book that had grabbed him, and he hoped this was it. Either way, though, he’d stick it out until the very end.</p><p> </p><p>This book was a part of who she was, and she was lending it to him. Offers like that didn’t come around twice.</p><p> </p><p>There was a knock on the door and Myrcella called, “Come in.”</p><p> </p><p>She got off the bed as the door opened and Jon closed it quickly.</p><p> </p><p>“You left me out there, man!,” Jon accused.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry,” Robb said, though he wasn’t really.</p><p> </p><p>“My fault,” Myrcella lied, “Robb was just checking on me and I asked for some help.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon’s expression changed entirely, he even straightened up slightly, “Oh, no of course. Is there more to do? I’ll send the girls home and we can get you all set up.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, no, you don’t have to do that,” Myrcella shook her head. For a moment Robb wondered if she was going to send Jon away, if she liked him being in here with her, but she said, “Seriously you guys should both go back.”</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella,” Jon said, “Please say you need help.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella looked at Jon and then at him. He nodded slightly at her and she turned back to Jon and said in a monotone, “Please Jon, Robb, I couldn’t possibly do this without you.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon pointed at her with a grin on his face, “We got your back, Baratheon, don’t you worry.”</p><p> </p><p>He then opened the door and walked back out into the living room and a moment later Roslin Frey peeked her head in.</p><p> </p><p>“Looks different already,” she said and then looked at him, “You need to help?”</p><p> </p><p>It was an awkward thing to ask in front of Myrcella, but he had left her to come in here so he couldn’t really blame her for it.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella stepped in though and said sweetly, “I’m so sorry, it’s all just a <em>bit </em>overwhelming.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella didn’t seem the sort to be overwhelmed by anything at all, let alone unpacking - or Roslin Frey for that matter.</p><p> </p><p>In spite of how she sometimes appeared, Roslin was at her core a kind person, so it was only slightly patronizing when she said, “Oh of course it is, sweetie! Do you need more help?”</p><p> </p><p>“That is just <em>so </em>nice of you,” Myrcella smiled but shook her head, “But I couldn’t possibly. Maybe once I’m settled in we could all go out for a drink or something.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course!,” Roslin smiled back.</p><p> </p><p>She looked at him and he held his hand up, “Night.”</p><p> </p><p>He could see it, the disappointment on her face but she nodded and left. Jeyne in the hallway called out a weak <em>Night </em>and then they heard the front door open and shut.</p><p> </p><p>Jon stepped forward and Robb stood up and they slapped each other’s hands in celebration.</p><p> </p><p>“You guys are <em>awful</em>,” Myrcella informed them, “Just terrible, terrible people.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb set the book down gently and went back to his post at the book shelf. Kafka’s <em>Metamorphosis </em>was there as it turned out, and Baudelaire, Alcott and du Maurier.</p><p> </p><p>“Nice collection,” Jon said from the bed as he looked through her records.</p><p> </p><p>A moment later <em>Anything, Anything </em>by Dramarama came on. Robb nodded to the beat as he put the rest of the books on the shelf and broke down the box.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you <em>doing</em>?,” Jon asked behind him and Robb turned around.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella was in fact dancing to the song as she unwrapped a picture frame.</p><p> </p><p>“The fact that you can listen to this and not dance makes me think that you just might be a monster,” Myrcella argued.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s not how you dance to this song, it has to be uglier,” Jon argued back.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella laughed, “I’m not sure we’re at the <em>ugly dance </em>level of our friendship just yet.”</p><p> </p><p>“How ugly is it?,” Robb chuckled.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh it’s gruesome,” she confirmed.</p><p> </p><p>“Bullshit,” Jon challenged.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella looked at Robb but pointed at Jon, “He’s good.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb agreed, “The best.”</p><p> </p><p>“Did Roslin bring vodka?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I think she took it with her, but we have some,” Robb said. “Or uh…whiskey…gin…tequila…”</p><p> </p><p>“Gin,” Myrcella confirmed.</p><p> </p><p>“With?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Gin,” Myrcella smiled. Then pointed at him, “You get that, and I’m going to find something that’ll make even Jon here dance his pretty little face off.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb went into the kitchen and opened the freezer and took out the bottle of gin. He grabbed a coupe from above the fridge and poured a healthy spot in. He heard an upbeat song song with a deliberate base start playing from Myrcella’s room.</p><p> </p><p>He grabbed another couple of beers and when he’d walked back in, they’d successfully cleared enough space so that Grey Wind and Ghost were now firmly inside.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re fighting it,” Myrcella told Jon and then she smiled at him and crossed over to take the glass. She looked up at him with wide, humorous eyes and told him solemnly, “He’s fighting it.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb looked down at her with serious eyes and told her teasingly, “Won’t take long now.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So what do we think? Is it worth continuing??</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He had watched the sun come up. The first sliver of it, rising. The way the sky had turned from black, to purple, to a stubborn yellow grey. It had been a while since he tossed and turned, but he’d laid there in a state of restlessness.</p><p> </p><p>At two A.M. he got up and did push-ups, a hundred maybe more. At three he took Ghost out for a walk around the block, his dog awake because he was. By five he stopped trying to get to sleep and went into the kitchen and made coffee, filling up Ghost’s bowl and Grey Wind’s, refilling their water dish.</p><p> </p><p>He grabbed his laptop and sat in the big arm chair, the only piece of furniture he’d brought from his Mom’s house when he’d sold it. It was worn on the arms but it molded perfectly to him.</p><p> </p><p>He typed in his password, and then another password, a code word for his unit and a six digit number that was only known to him and Mormont.</p><p> </p><p>His inbox was fairly reasonable, only five hundred unread emails. He opened the ones from Mormont and Thorne first, typing in succinct, clipped sentences to the latter and with more care to the former.</p><p> </p><p>Things were steady, stable. He wouldn’t have to go in today if all stayed as it was.</p><p> </p><p>Ghost got up and walked towards Myrcella’s door and a moment later it opened.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh!,” she smiled sleepily, petting Ghost’s head and then waved to him, “Morning.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re up early,” he informed her uselessly.</p><p> </p><p>“Alway am,” she shrugged.</p><p> </p><p>“There’s coffee,” he told her.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks, do you need a refill?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>Jon looked at his cup and realized that he did.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah but I’ll —“</p><p> </p><p>“Stay there, you’re all cozy,” Myrcella said and took the mug from him.</p><p> </p><p>Instinctually he closed his laptop as she walked behind him. Likely she wouldn’t understand even if she saw something, but Jon took his position far too seriously to relinquish confidentiality even slightly. In all their time living together, all of the goofing around, the pranks, Robb and Theon had never looked at his laptop. They knew enough to know not to, that it wouldn’t be funny.</p><p> </p><p>He had no idea what Myrcella would make of any of it. Her question had caught him off-guard yesterday. As well as the indifference with which she asked it. Most citizens of the realm would be horrified to know some of the things done on their behalf, but Myrcella asked as though she knew there were strings being pulled this way and that way, but that it mattered very little to her.</p><p> </p><p>Perhaps it was how she grew up, who raised her. Tywin Lannister held some of those strings. More than he should. It was likely that Myrcella knew more than the average citizen. Even still, she had to be treated as one.</p><p> </p><p>Which meant that he didn’t merely close his laptop. While she was in the kitchen he shut it down and put it back in his room.</p><p> </p><p>He came back into the living room at the same time that she did, and she held out his mug. Today she had used one of Robb’s grey ones.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks,” he said as he took it from her and settled back into his chair.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella took a sip of hers and headed back towards her room. Propping herself up against the doorway she scratched Ghost’s head as she looked around the room.</p><p> </p><p>He wanted to ask her many things. What she thought of the place, and the North. If it was hard to turn away from her family, all the money and the trappings. If she’d struggled with it the way he had, when his father had finally come around. He wanted to ask her if it had come naturally to forgive her father, for staying, even when he was unfit. If she would have preferred that he had left and made it cleaner or if this messiness was better than nothing at all. He wanted to ask if she’d put on make up or if her cheeks were naturally rosy. If she had spritzed perfume on before she’d left her room or if that was just the way she smelled.</p><p> </p><p>Those were not the sorts of questions you could ask a stranger though. Those were not the sorts of questions Jon asked anybody.</p><p> </p><p>Even still his face must have looked like a question so when she looked back at him her eyebrows raised slightly in a question of her own.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want to go to the coffee shop?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“If it’s not too much trouble,” she agreed. “I’d like to get to know the neighborhood.”</p><p> </p><p>“I usually take Ghost on a long walk in the woods on Sundays… but… we could do it around here. If you’d like company…,” he found himself saying, “No pressure though.”</p><p> </p><p>Her face took on a surprised smile and she looked back at her room and then at him, “You don’t mind?”</p><p> </p><p>There were very few things in the world that Jon would mind less than a walk on a Sunday morning with Ghost and whoever the creature in front of him was. She was beguiling, and in possession of the quiet sort of confidence that lended itself to kindness.</p><p> </p><p>His mother had had it too.</p><p> </p><p>“Just bundle up,” he told her, “It looks cold out there for a southerner.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella looked out the window and informed him, “It looks cold out there for anybody.” And then at his dog, “Except perhaps Ghost here.”</p><p> </p><p>Ghost was sitting on her feet, leaning his entire body into her, his head tilted backwards pressing against her as she scratched underneath his chin.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s such a lovebug,” she told him.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Jon said.</p><p> </p><p>Ghost loved him and the Starks, and he was the most loyal beast he’d ever known, but most would not consider him a lovebug. It was an apt description for the dog in front of him now though, so he didn’t feel it to be so much a lie that it was wrong to say.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll just go get dressed then? Or do you have things…,” she trailed off.</p><p> </p><p>“No things,” he confirmed.</p><p> </p><p>“Great,” she smiled.</p><p> </p><p>Smiling came easy to her. It was as though smiling was her lips’ natural position. An inversion of his own.</p><p> </p><p>She went into her room, laughing as Ghost followed her in and closed the door lightly behind them. Jon got up as well and brushed his teeth and splashed some water on his face, swiped deodorant underneath his arms. He considered using the cologne that Sansa had gotten him for Christmas last year but he knew that Robb would never let him hear the end of it if he came in here to find the bathroom smelling of it.</p><p> </p><p>So he went in to his bedroom and pulled on black joggers and socks, his sneakers, a long sleeved shirt and a dark grey waffle one on top. He grabbed his headphones and phone and wallet and keys.</p><p> </p><p>This all took less than four minutes, so he was surprised when he walked back into the living room to find Myrcella waiting for him, stuffing mittens into the pocket of her parka.</p><p> </p><p>She’d also put on jeans and a sweater and her golden hair was tucked under a cream fuzzy hat with a large fur pom-pom on it.</p><p> </p><p>“Aren’t you going to freeze?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I have a coat…,” he reminded her.</p><p> </p><p>She narrowed her eyes at him and then said in a deep, caveman voice, “Jon tough, Jon manly.”</p><p> </p><p>A chuckle escaped him, and he answered, as near to the voice she’d used, “Jon used to it.”</p><p> </p><p>That seemed to appease her so she made her way towards the door. As they stopped so that she could put on her snow boots and he could grab his jacket she gestured towards Robb’s door.</p><p> </p><p>“Should we ask if he wants to come?,” she wondered.</p><p> </p><p>“No, his highness’ll need another couple of hours,” Jon said and then thought about it, “Hold on though.” He stepped by her and opened Robb’s door, “Come on, boy.”</p><p> </p><p>Grey Wind, sleeping fully on top of Robb, woke up and hopped off the bed and ran towards him. Jon closed the door, not worrying about being quiet, as Robb could sleep through anything, and grabbed Grey Wind’s leash.</p><p> </p><p>“Morning handsome,” Myrcella greeted Grey Wind, who was trying to weave through her legs.</p><p> </p><p>They walked down the stairs, out into the fresh air. The streets were fairly deserted, as it was still very early, and they made their way down the front path and he led them to the right.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want me to hold one of them?,” Myrcella asked.</p><p> </p><p>Jon had both Grey Wind and Ghost’s leash in his hands.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s alright,” he said.</p><p> </p><p>Though both Ghost and Grey Wind were good, obedient dogs, they were strong. Insanely so. While he didn’t think they’d run off, if they tried it she’d be flat on her face.</p><p> </p><p>They walked the next block in silence. Jon turned to look at her to see if she was waiting for him to begin a conversation but he found her looking at the different houses. She seemed content not to speak, just to walk and look.</p><p> </p><p>It was rare he’d found, in someone as lively as her, that they’d be so natural in silence. Robb was like that too, but they’d known each other for years. Their whole lives, really.</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t want her to turn to see him watching her so he focused on the sidewalk in front of him. They’d turned left on maple in a couple of blocks, and the cafe would be on their right.</p><p> </p><p>Ghost tugged his leash and he looked down to find him trying to get on Myrcella’s other side. Up ahead there was another dog coming, a shepherd of some kind.</p><p> </p><p>“Ghost,” Jon said but his dog didn’t budge. Myrcella looked over at him and Jon asked, “He uh… do you mind getting on my other side?”</p><p> </p><p>It was a strange request, but a simple one too, and Myrcella treated it as such. She got on his other side and just like that Ghost fell back into line.</p><p> </p><p>“Does he need to be on the outside?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Not usually,” Jon answered. “He must not like the look of this dog.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella looked ahead and then back at Ghost and Grey Wind. She didn’t say anything, but it seemed like she understood.</p><p> </p><p>They walked by the person and the dog with little incident.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s just up here,” he told her.</p><p> </p><p>“Will they be alright outside?,” she wondered.</p><p> </p><p>“They would be,” he assured her, “But the owner lets dogs in.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella smiled widely, “Really? I love that.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Jon nodded, “Says he doesn’t want anyone in there that’d mind anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hear, hear,” she agreed.</p><p> </p><p>They crossed the street and walked into the warmth of the coffee shop. Myrcella unzipped her coat and pulled off her hat. Her golden hair raised off of her head.</p><p> </p><p>“What?,” she asked and only then did he realize he was smiling.</p><p> </p><p>“The uh… static…,” he explained.</p><p> </p><p>Her brow furrowed for a second and then she looked in the mirror behind her and turned back to him quickly, bending slightly and grabbing his arm laughing.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh I look crazy, don’t I?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Completely,” he affirmed, because the thought seemed to bring her such joy.</p><p> </p><p>She gave him another smile and then turned her attention to the menu.</p><p> </p><p>“They’ve got great pastries, if you’re hungry,” he told her.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh I wish, that pizza was my splurge though,” she told him, her eyes still on the menu.</p><p> </p><p>He looked over at her, her fine cheek bones, her neck not particularly long but very slender. Everything about her was almost diminutive.</p><p> </p><p>He wanted to tell her that she could afford a pastry or two, or ten. He had a feeling that if he did she’d say something like <em>You’re sweet </em>and rather than get the pastry would refrain from being honest with him in the future.</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t want her to feel dismissed.</p><p> </p><p>So he merely nodded and that seemed like the right thing when she nudged her arm against his briefly before they stepped forward in line.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Jon,” Sophie, the daughter of the owner greeted him.</p><p> </p><p>“Pulled the graveyard shift, huh?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>She nodded sleepily, “Dad caught me sneaking in after curfew.”</p><p> </p><p>“Can’t be doing that,” he shook his head.</p><p> </p><p>“I know, I know,” she yawned, “Your usual?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah and whatever she’s having,” he agreed. Then figured he ought to introduce her, “This is mine and Robb’s new roommate, Myrcella.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hi there,” Myrcella smiled.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi,” Sophie smiled awkwardly at her, the way fifteen year old girls sometimes did.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella ordered the house blend with warmed oat milk, and accepted Sophie’s suggestion of a pinch of brown sugar. Once they had their coffees they stepped back outside.</p><p> </p><p>“So where’s your office?,” Jon asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t think it’s too far from here,” she told him, “It’s on Whisper Lane?”</p><p> </p><p>It was just a few blocks away, so he suggested they walked towards there from here and she grinned and agreed, <em>Since I’ll be coming from here every morning, this is so good!</em></p><p> </p><p>They each sipped their coffees and continued to walk. The neighborhood was starting to wake up, and every so often Myrcella would point to a particularly charming house and he’d nod and point at one further up that he’d always liked.</p><p> </p><p>“This is kind of you,” she told him as they turned onto Whisper Lane.</p><p> </p><p>“We were going out anyway,” he reminded her, not wanting her to give him too much credit. And perhaps, not wanting her to see anything in it. “What number?”</p><p> </p><p>“87,” she said so he turned them to the left.</p><p> </p><p>They walked another block and then amongst the houses there was a large stone structure. It looked almost like it had once been used as some sort of town meeting place, but when you looked up at the windows it was clear it had been changed into office space.</p><p> </p><p>He looked over at Myrcella and she turned to look at him.</p><p> </p><p>“It looks like the sort of place that could do some good,” she told him and then bent her head slightly, “Doesn’t it?”</p><p> </p><p>He felt his eyes crinkling, “Yeah. It does.”</p><p> </p><p>“This is kind of you,” she repeated.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m happy to,” he answered more honestly.</p><p> </p><p>That seemed enough for her, so after another look she turned back towards the building. His eyes stayed on her though.</p><p> </p><p>“The things you’re not supposed to know about,” he answered her question from last night.</p><p> </p><p>He could tell instantly that she had understood, but she didn’t turn right away. She took a deep breath and then her eyes shifted towards him briefly and then back at the building.</p><p> </p><p>“There are some things that places like this can’t fix,” she reasoned and took a sip of her coffee and turned towards him with a bright smile, “So where else should I be seeing around here?”</p><p> </p><p>“There’s a pub around the corner we like,” he accepted the change in subject for the gift that it was.</p><p> </p><p>“Pubs are very much the sort of thing my Mother does not approve of,” Myrcella told him primly, “So I’d quite like to become a regular.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon chuckled, “This way.”</p><p> </p><p>“Before we go,” Myrcella stopped him. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. He looked at her, ready to keep his face blank no matter what she asked. She took a deep breath, “I think I should get to hold one of their leashes.”</p><p> </p><p>“Um,” he smirked, “Okay. Which one?”</p><p> </p><p>She looked horrified, “Oh I couldn’t possibly choose between them! I’ll just close my eyes and you hand me one.”</p><p> </p><p>Her fingernails were painted a pink so light it nearly matched her skin, as she rested her palm against her eyes. With her golden hair and ski-jump nose, she was the sort of girl that he’d imagine being friends with Sansa. None of Sansa’s friends were like her though.</p><p> </p><p>It was hard to put his finger on it, but he told themself, assured himself, that it wasn’t just that she was beautiful. He’d never been the sort for obvious beauties, anyway.</p><p> </p><p>Even still, he handed her Ghost’s leash. Telling himself that it was just because Ghost was slightly more obedient.</p><p> </p><p>She opened her eyes and nodded at him and so they set off towards the pub. When they got there she decided that it was a fine old place, and so they walked towards one restaurant and then another. He showed her the market and the dry cleaners and she took note of the florist and nail salon, neither of which he’d ever noticed. He showed her the pizza place they’d ordered from and before too long they found their way back to 453 Weir.</p><p> </p><p>“You were such good boys,” Myrcella told Grey Wind and Ghost.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” he said anyway.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella grinned at him and walked up the path and unlocked the front door. He followed her up and into their apartment.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my gosh my cheeks are <em>frozen</em>,” she informed him, and then tilted her cheek towards him, “Feel.”</p><p> </p><p>He held his hand out and touched her cheek lightly, unsurprised at its softness.</p><p> </p><p>“Southerner,” he teased.</p><p> </p><p>She stuck her tongue out at him and pulled off her snow boots and jacket, hanging it up on the hook and then walked away from him.</p><p> </p><p>“Morning!,” she must have greeted Robb before going into her room and closing the door.</p><p> </p><p>For some reason Jon’s stomach churned, and he took off his shoes slowly, hanging up his coat and the leashes with care. When there was no reason to delay further he walked into the living room.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” he greeted Robb.</p><p> </p><p>He was laying on the couch, a book on his chest.</p><p> </p><p>“Nice walk?,” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Jon confirmed. He sat in the chair because anything else would have made him seem guilty. He gestured towards the book, “What’s that?”</p><p> </p><p>Robb lifted it and said, “Marjorie Morningstar. Myrcella lent it to me.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon nodded and a moment later Myrcella came out of her room, holding a laptop.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you guys mind if I hang out here with you?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“‘Course not,” he told her.</p><p> </p><p>“I might not be all that talkative,” Robb warned, sitting up, “I’m pretty hooked.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella smiled and sat down, “Told you.” She settled onto the loveseat, turning on her side so that she could rest her back against the arm of it. “And that’s okay. I like the quiet.”</p><p> </p><p>There could have been nothing in it, but she smiled kindly at him. He looked at her too. And then he felt Robb looking at him.</p><p> </p><p>“Got any more books worth reading in there?,” he asked her.</p><p> </p><p>She nodded, “Help yourself to anything you want, but if you haven’t read it, I think you’d like The Stranger.”</p><p> </p><p>He got out of the chair and walked into her room. They had gotten her all set up last night, and everything was very neat and tidy. It was almost painfully feminine, and it made him feel oafish as he walked over to the bookshelf.</p><p> </p><p>Robb had organized the bookshelf, the way he sorted their fridge and and his closet. It was in a coherent, but not a rigid structure. Like with like, but in no particular order amongst themselves.</p><p> </p><p>He found The Stranger and grabbed it off the shelf. It was slim, unlike the hulking tomb Robb had, and when he opened it he saw that she had written notes in the margins. He half expected that she’d have neat, almost type-like penmanship, but it was loose, elegant in its irregularity. Nearly impossible to duplicate.</p><p> </p><p>He walked back into the living room and Myrcella was now the other way, on her knees, supporting herself on the armrest of the couch as she looked over Robb’s shoulder at the book he was reading and nodded at what he was pointing at.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s it about, anyway?,” he wondered.</p><p> </p><p>“All the things we’re determined to be,” Robb said, “Before we accept who we are.” And then turned back towards Myrcella, his nose nearly at her hair, “Right?”</p><p> </p><p>“Kill the boy, and let the man live,” Jon all but murmured something that he’d thought he’d long forgotten.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella heard though and she nodded, “Just so.” She nodded her head towards the book in his hands, “If you don’t like that we’ll find you something else.”</p><p> </p><p>She then got off her knees and twisted, falling back and leaning her back against the arm rest she’d just been leaning over. Her and Robb’s heads were inches apart, as Robb looked back at the pages and she at her computer screen.</p><p> </p><p>Jon put his feet up on the coffee table and opened the book to the first page.</p><p> </p><p><em>Maman died today</em>, it read. It went on in clipped, removed prose. He read on, following the man on the bus and to the caretaker’s.</p><p> </p><p>On the fourth page she’d scrawled, <em>Orphans with mothers</em>.</p><p> </p><p>His eyes flicked to Myrcella and as though she’d been expecting it her eyes met them.</p><p> </p><p>He knew then, that he was right. It wasn’t just that she was a beauty.</p><p> </p><p>She was lending them pieces of her soul, bits of her self, the ones she thought they might understand.</p><p> </p><p>He turned the page with care, his fingers as light on them as they had been on her cheek, and read on.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Myrcella, do you have a moment?,” her boss, Barristan, asked as he popped his head into her office.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course,” Myrcella closed out of the email she had been writing and turned towards him.</p><p> </p><p>“May I?,” he asked, gesturing to the chair in front of her desk.</p><p> </p><p>“Please,” she gestured to it as well.</p><p> </p><p>Barristan was a noble looking man in his mid-sixties. He wore three-piece suits to meet investors and old fisherman’s sweaters when he gave tours to prospective interns.</p><p> </p><p>She had interviewed with him a couple of months ago after Davos has passed along her resume along with his recommendation - which Barristan assured her he wouldn’t use against her - and taken an immediate liking to him. He was plain spoken, but very charming, and had an ability to set you at ease even as you were aware that he was scrutinizing your ever move.</p><p> </p><p>“I just wanted to check in to see how your first week was,” he told her.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh!,” her spine uncoiled slightly, “It’s been so wonderful, really. Everyone has been great and so welcoming.”</p><p> </p><p>She would have told him that even if someone had stuck her head in the toilet at lunch, but it was actually true. It was a small team, only about fifty people: educators, a handful of office coordinators, a small PR team, tech, and a smattering of others.</p><p> </p><p>Barristan had started the company about ten years earlier out of his home when he realized how difficult it was for inner-city kids to get out of the cycle they’d been born into. Since then it had been written up in every financial newspaper and magazine in the country.</p><p> </p><p>He attracted good, quality people. All of the staff were true believers, and though everyone had their own roles, it was encouraged to intermingle, to be involved of the entire process.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s good to hear,” he told her, “I think you’ll fit in nicely. And look I know what we’ve got you doing isn’t your absolute, I see it, I know it, we’ll get you into something that you can sink your teeth into once you learn the ropes and what not.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” she said, tucking her hair behind her ear, “I’d like to be wherever I can be most useful. Truly, so don’t worry about that.”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded, “Well I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t helpful that I can send you into any boardroom in the country and you’ll speak their language, but just because it’s useful to me, doesn’t mean it’s right for you. We’ll find something that works for us all.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m looking forward to it,” she nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“What?,” he asked, “There’s something, I can tell.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re good,” she laughed, “I was just wondering if you think one of the alum would do us a favor? I have that meeting at Dormund Co. next week. From everything I’ve read they’ve been pretty resistant to this… I don’t want to bring a prospective with me for obvious reasons but I thought if one of the alum would be open to it, they could come along and talk about the success they had, the sorts of things they did… it might be a rubbish idea but… it might ground things a bit for them.”</p><p> </p><p>Barristan looked at her and nodded slowly, “Who are you meeting with there?”</p><p> </p><p>“I think just Marlin. I was meant to meet with the head of his HR department, but I guess when he heard about it he decided to step in. Probably wants to give me a piece of his mind because I’m pretty sure he made it clear to my predecessor he wasn’t interested period,” she told him.</p><p> </p><p>“And remind me why we want him, if that’s his attitude?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>She crossed her legs and folded her hands in her lap, thinking about it.</p><p> </p><p>“There’s the public relations reason and the practical one,” she said, “Which would you prefer?”</p><p> </p><p>His eyes twinkled, “PR, always.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiled, “Well, it’d be a coup, really. Dormund is one of the last holdouts in the city, and it was noted in the last write-up in the Times. He was on record against the program. So, if our PR team is worth their salt which I know they are, they’ll get the writer to do a follow-up and it’ll be framed as though we conquered the North, when really it’s just the last domino to fall.”</p><p> </p><p>“And the practical one?,” he nudged.</p><p> </p><p>“It opens up a whole new potential demographic. Dormund does more business across the Narrow Sea than almost any other technology company in the North. We’ve got great depth in finance, journalism, politics, law, but technology has been a bit slower because their perception of themselves is skewed.”</p><p> </p><p>“Skewed?,” he prompted.</p><p> </p><p>“They feel amongst themselves very populist,” she explained, “Because they like to hire dropouts rather than valedictorians. But you first have to have the privilege to throw it away, so really, they’re the worst of the bunch.”</p><p> </p><p>Barristan chuckled, “I’d never thought about it that way.”</p><p> </p><p>She shrugged, “It’s just something to think about. Doesn’t have to be this time, but I think these meetings could be great learning experiences for the right kind of alum. They need a bit of confidence though, no wilting flowers.”</p><p> </p><p>Barristan nodded, “I think you’re probably right. Let me think about it over the weekend, alright?”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course,” she agreed.</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” he said, standing up. “It is 4 PM and your boss is about to leave, so I hope you do too. There are very few things done between the hours of 4 and 6 on a Friday evening that have true merit.”</p><p> </p><p>She laughed, “I was going to finish some emails, but…”</p><p> </p><p>“But instead you’re going to put on your coat and go live your life,” he informed her, “Merry weekend, Myrcella.”</p><p> </p><p>“And to you, Barristan,” she agreed.</p><p> </p><p>He gave her a wave and then left her office. She peered out through the glass doors of her office and saw that people were packing up their desks, wrapping scarves around necks. Most nights people stayed until at least six, but it appeared that Fridays were the exception.</p><p> </p><p>She swiveled in her chair to look outside. Her view from her office was terribly picturesque, especially now as the snow fell softly and the street lamps had started to come on.</p><p> </p><p>She filed a few emails and then shut down her computer, taking her tea cup to the kitchen to wash it out. There were a few people talking about plans for the weekend and she waved to them before going back to her office and pulling her coat and hat on. She grabbed her personal cell out of her bag and checked it.</p><p> </p><p>She had a couple of texts from Shireen, her Mother had called again. So had her Father.</p><p> </p><p>She rode down in the elevator alone, and waved to the security guard as she stepped into the cool late afternoon air. There were a few stores she wanted to pop into on her way home. Likely they’d be out of her price range but she could still look and it was always good to know where to find a good present.</p><p> </p><p>She planned at the very least to stop at the florist to get something for her bedside table.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella turned onto Maple and walked towards the first shop. She’d seen a beautiful scarf in there on her way to work that she wanted to try on. She was in the North now, after all, scarves were a necessity.</p><p> </p><p>She was about to step inside when her phone rang again. Imagining it was her Mother again she opened the door to the store as she raised it and saw that it was Robb.</p><p> </p><p>“Robb, hey, all okay?,” she wondered as she stepped inside.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?,” he asked in his usual, upbeat voice.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know,” she relaxed slightly, enough to start searching for the scarf, “It’s just after 4 on a weekday…”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella had been the first one home each night this week. Even on Tuesday, after she’d gone for drinks with some of her new coworkers, she’d come home to an empty apartment. Robb had come in a little while after her but Jon hadn’t gotten home by the time she went to bed.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah but it’s Friday,” Robb noted, “Oh sorry, are you still at work? I figured you’d be let out early like the rest of us. Especially on your first week.”</p><p> </p><p>Her brow furrowed, “That’s a thing? I thought it was just Barristan. He practically pushed me out the door. I was just…on my way home.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh good,” Robb said, “Where are you? A bunch of us are heading to a pub we like. I’ll walk you over.”</p><p> </p><p>She knew where the pub was thanks to her walk with Jon. It felt like they were just roaming the neighborhood at the time, but as she walked to and from work, to the market, she’d realized that he’d taken her in a very deliberate pattern, always circling back to something she knew so that she’d understand things were in relation to one another.</p><p> </p><p>Even still though, it would be nice to walk in with Robb if she was going to meet a bunch of strangers.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m on the corner of Maple and Whisper,” she told him.</p><p> </p><p>“Cool I’m just around the corner, one sec,” Robb said and then clicked off.</p><p> </p><p>She placed her phone in her coat pocket and thanked the shopkeeper before heading back outside. Myrcella reached the corner as Robb did, his wool coat not even buttoned over his suit, while her parka was zipped all the way to her chin, her golden hair poofed out between the collar of her coat and the brim of her hat like cream escaping a pastry.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello you,” she smiled at him as he neared.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh hey doll,” he grinned and then with a slight bow crooked his elbow.</p><p> </p><p>She weaved her arm through it and let him guide her down the street. It was busy, apparently northerners liked to start their weekends early. Teenagers and young professionals, Moms, Dads, all milled about.</p><p> </p><p>“So, who am I meeting?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh just a bunch of our crowd,” he told her, “Theon - who used to live in your room - and his girlfriend Ros, Roslin and Jeyne’ll be there…sorry. Jeyne’s sweet though I promise. A bunch of the guys Jon works with - Sam and his girlfriend Gilly, who you’ll love. It’s a good group. I think you’ll like them.”</p><p> </p><p>“No promises on them liking me then,” she teased.</p><p> </p><p>Robb grinned and looked at her, his brow furrowing, “Of course they will. Who wouldn’t?”</p><p> </p><p>It was nice to be thought of that way. As the girl that anybody would like. She wasn’t sure that that girl in anyway resembled her, who she really was, but if that was Robb Stark’s perception of her then she was in no hurry to alter it.</p><p> </p><p>“This is mighty fine of you,” she told him.</p><p> </p><p>He leaned in closer and confessed, “I wanted to throw you a surprise party, but Jon convinced me that was insane.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella laughed, “He was right.”</p><p> </p><p>His eyes twinkled in the street lamps and he stopped them in front of the pub and pulled open the door, “Here we are.”</p><p> </p><p>She took a deep breath and nodded, walking inside.</p><p> </p><p>“Stark!,” someone called the moment Robb entered behind her.</p><p> </p><p>Robb guided her with a hand on her back over towards a group of people congregated at the back bar.</p><p> </p><p>“You must be the new me,” a roguish guy said as she approached.</p><p> </p><p>“Hardly, I hope,” the stunning redhead standing at his side laughed.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Theon,” she greeted him, “I’m Myrcella.”</p><p> </p><p>“And this heavenly creature is my girlfriend, Ros,” he informed her and the beauty smiled.</p><p> </p><p>Her features were finely conceived, her skin smooth as marble, and yet to Myrcella she seemed older, her perhaps just wiser than herself.</p><p> </p><p>“Welcome to the madding crowd,” Ros greeted her, illustrated by the whoops that took up to their right at something that had been said.</p><p> </p><p>“Lovely to meet you,” she smiled.</p><p> </p><p>Roslin had come to greet Robb so Myrcella made a pointing gesture and Ros nodded at her so Myrcella stepped towards the small cluster at the bar.</p><p> </p><p>Jon was seated on one of the stools and she walked over to him, placing her hands on his shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s a girl got to do to get a drink around here?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>He turned with bright eyes and wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her to his side. He pressed a warm kiss to her cheek.</p><p> </p><p>“You made it,” he grinned.</p><p> </p><p>“In all my glory,” she smiled back.</p><p> </p><p>“Give me your things, we’ve got hooks down here,” he informed her and so she took off her coat and stuffed her hat into the sleeve, handing it to him along with her bag.</p><p> </p><p>“Aren’t you going to introduce us?,” the man sitting on the stool facing him asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Hadn’t planned on it,” Jon shook his head.</p><p> </p><p>She laughed and rested her forearm on Jon’s shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m Myrcella,” she greeted them.</p><p> </p><p>“Edd,” the man who’d spoken introduced himself. He pointed to the guy to his right, “This is Grenn.”</p><p> </p><p>“Nice to meet you both,” she smiled and then turned her attentions to the bartender, “May I have a dry gin martini, please?”</p><p> </p><p>The bartender nodded and it was only when Jon squeezed her closer that she realized his arm was still around her back. She directed her attention towards him.</p><p> </p><p>“I hear you screwed me out of a surprise party,” she said in his ear.</p><p> </p><p>“Figured it might be a bit much your first week,” he explained in hers.</p><p> </p><p>“You were right,” she told him.</p><p> </p><p>“So.,” he stated, and so she leaned back slightly so that she could look at him. She felt his arm then, as though she could dip herself backwards and he’d still be able to sit there all night, sipping his whiskey. It was a tad possessive, but in no way lascivious. It was the sort of grip that suggested that there were wolves about, but here she was, safe and sound. “How was it?”</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t help but place her hands on his shoulders, looking him right in the eyes, “I just…”</p><p> </p><p>“Loved it,” he finished for her. She nodded. “Good.”</p><p> </p><p>She tilted her head, looking at the circles underneath his eyes, “And yours? Not so good I fear.”</p><p> </p><p>His eyes crinkled unnecessarily. She knew that he couldn’t tell her anything.</p><p> </p><p>He conceded, “Better now.”</p><p> </p><p>The bartender placed her martini on the bar so she lifted it, “I’ll drink to that.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll drink to you,” he told her, and they clinked their glasses against one another’s.</p><p> </p><p>It was a good martini, though it was quite hard to screw it up, and she turned back and asked Edd and Grenn about themselves. It turned out that Jon was their boss, though he seemed very uncomfortable at being described that way. From what she could gather, they had all come up in the ranks together, and everything she knew about Jon Snow suggested that being singled out amongst his peers was one thing, but to lord it over them quite another.</p><p> </p><p>Grenn was telling a story that had Edd and Jon laughing. She didn’t know any of the people so her mind started to drift, as did her eyes. When they fell on Robb, she found that he was looking already.</p><p> </p><p>She smiled widely at him. He was still speaking to Roslin. They looked good together, though she knew already it would never be. Robb didn’t seem the sort to play games, or take too long to know exactly what he wanted. He raised his glass towards her, so she raised hers back to him.</p><p> </p><p>She turned to Jon and asked in his ear, “Does this place have a jukebox?”</p><p> </p><p>“Over there, by the bathrooms,” he told her.</p><p> </p><p>She told him she’d be right back and smiled placidly at the rest of their friends whom she’d not yet met. She walked through the bar towards the sign that said restrooms and stopped at the jukebox.</p><p> </p><p>She started looking through the selection. You’d never know from it that any music had been made after 1973. That was all fine with her, and she looked back around the bar trying to find something that’d make them all roll their eyes at first until they forgot. Forgot that they were cool, jaded, you name it. And remember that they were here, having earned their weekend and their games.</p><p> </p><p>“Good choice,” Robb said behind her.</p><p> </p><p>She peered back over her shoulder, “I haven’t decided yet.” Even still she put her quarter in and pressed the code.</p><p> </p><p>He came next to her, propping himself up against the jukebox so she did the same.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon’s tipsy,” she smiled.</p><p> </p><p>Robb grinned, “Yeah that crowd was here an hour ago. They like to unwind <em>hard</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“I imagine,” she agreed.</p><p> </p><p>“So is he the better roommate?,” Robb asked her.</p><p> </p><p>The question caught her so off-guard that she laughed. They were both excellent roommates, from what she had seen. They were tidy, didn’t stomp around while she was trying to sleep. Even in the busyness of their weeks they had found time to be kind and welcoming.</p><p> </p><p>“What makes you say that?,” she wondered.</p><p> </p><p>He shrugged, and told her, “You went right for him.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” she realized. Myrcella hadn’t once considered that would hurt his feelings, but he had come out of his way to come get her, he had wanted to throw her a surprise party for goodness sake, and she’d left his side. “I just didn’t feel like sharpening my claws.”</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Roslin,” she explained. “I’m sure she’s lovely, but… I don’t think she’s such a fan of me, and I didn’t feel like pushing in.”</p><p> </p><p>“And how could she not be a fan of you?,” he asked, “She met you for all of two minutes.”</p><p> </p><p>“Even still,” she shrugged, looking back towards the bar. Roslin was standing there with Jeyne, looking right at them. Myrcella sighed. “Some girls see competition where there isn’t any.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Robb said, and there was something in his tone that made her turn back towards him. His blue eyes didn’t so much as glance towards Roslin as he said, “They do.”</p><p> </p><p>It had taken her a moment, a whole day in fact, to realize how attractive her roommates were. They were all hanging about on Sunday evening and something just clicked, and she realized what she should have seen before, the moment she met them. Robb, with his blue eyes framed in long lashes, the smattering of freckles on his nose, his broad shoulders. Jon, with his full, pouty lips and dark gaze and curls.</p><p> </p><p>Since then she had managed to forget that a bit. It wasn’t as though they were the first attractive men she’d ever met, and she wasn’t the sort to fall for just a pretty face anyway. Not her, who knew how often a rotting core could be hidden by a beautiful facade.</p><p> </p><p>There were moments though, where it was impossible not to notice. Moments like this, now.</p><p> </p><p>She felt a blush rising on her cheeks and was grateful for the darkness of the bar.</p><p> </p><p>“Your song is playing,” he said.</p><p> </p><p>“Hmm?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Your song,” a slow smile spread on his face, “It’s playing.”</p><p> </p><p>She blinked and then all at once the noise from the pub came back. The chatter and the laughter and yes, her song.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” she nodded, “Yes.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s eyes flitted to the right and he informed her, “And I think you’re about to dance.”</p><p> </p><p>With that Robb took her glass out of her hand as someone else tugged her other. A moment later she was pulled into a dance, and she looked up to find it was Jon who was moving her to the beat.</p><p> </p><p>She held his hand with hers and wrapped an arm around his neck. That arm of his was back around her waist and it felt good, and steady, safe.</p><p> </p><p>“All okay?,” he asked her.</p><p> </p><p>She nodded saying, “Better now.”</p><p> </p><p>She looked up at him to smile, but found his eyes already on her. Molten and serious. The arm started to feel less safe, and she could feel his fingers in the indents of her ribs. As though they fit there, naturally.</p><p> </p><p>He held their hands against his chest and swayed them softly to the music.</p><p> </p><p>They were so close that his voice needed not to go above a murmur when he wondered, “What did he say to you?”</p><p> </p><p>She forced lightness into her tone when she told him, “He wanted to know if I liked you better.”</p><p> </p><p>He smirked, “So we’re to have a competition then?”</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head, “No. He was just being silly.”</p><p> </p><p>“Was he?,” Jon challenged.</p><p> </p><p>“You both are,” she admonished gently.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sure you’re right,” he lied, right to her face.</p><p> </p><p>His face was usually so honest, so she couldn’t bear to look at it now, twisted until it was false.</p><p> </p><p>“I am,” she agreed, placing her cheek against his chest.</p><p> </p><p>And it was only a little so that he did not see the way her face had twisted in return.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'd love to hear what you think!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you to the like... four of you who are reading this lol. I'm not sure why this story is so interesting to me, but I'm really enjoying writing it so I hope you enjoy reading it.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There were very few evenings that Robb made it home before seven-thirty. Eight o’clock was more dependable. Of course there were the weeks when he was lucky to be home before midnight, but those happened twice a year at their busiest times. Even still, apart from Friday afternoon’s, it was almost unheard of that he’d leave his desk promptly at six.</p><p> </p><p>So it had been today, though. A marvel in organization, Gilly, his friend and new executive assistant, had utterly changed his life in the span of a week. He’d been unsure at first, the idea of working together. He’d promised to help her find something, but then his assistant had left around the same time and after a very awkward conversation between he and Gilly and a dour member of the HR department, it had been decided that they were a good fit.</p><p> </p><p>Robb was not the sort of boss who took any pleasure in bossing people around. Sure there was always a low level exec from some family that needed to be knocked down a peg, lest he think of lording it over the interns, but that was all in good fun. Otherwise though he prided himself on being the sort of boss that didn’t make such a show of it.</p><p> </p><p>Even still, he had never expected to be bossed around by one of his employees - other than HR and Legal that is.</p><p> </p><p>Gilly ran a tight ship though. It was clear that her background as a kindergarten teacher had taught her how to manage chaos, a prerequisite of handling his calendar.</p><p> </p><p>She intercepted all calls and determined whether the time they came in was the opportune time for him to have them, decluttered the weekly meetings that everyone attended on autopilot, and booked him non-negotiable <em>executive time </em>from 2:30-4 each day, which allowed him to do the work he often caught up on after 6.</p><p> </p><p>Now he understood why his father paid Jory Cassel an unimaginable sum of money each year. There was no amount of money Gilly could ask for that he would deem inappropriate to keep her around and happy.</p><p> </p><p>He would have considered sending out a group message to meet at the pub, but everyone he’d want to see would laugh and say <em>see you in a couple of hours.</em> So Robb had merely left the office, walked home and stopped at the market on the way. He picked up chicken and tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.</p><p> </p><p>He rarely cooked during the weekdays, but he enjoyed doing it on weekends and chicken parmesan sounded like just the ticket on a cold Wednesday night. Unsurprisingly he was the first to arrive home, so he walked Ghost and Grey Wind around the block and then fed them their dinner. He took all of the ingredients out and realized they were low on oregano.</p><p> </p><p>The market was just around the corner but he looked at the clock and saw that it was 6:45. Myrcella could be leaving her office at any minute, and she walked right by the market.</p><p> </p><p>He grabbed his phone and saw that she’d texted him and Jon: <em>Heading to the store, need anything?</em></p><p> </p><p>It was a strange coincidence, hardly the first in the month that she’d lived with them though. She seemed to have a preternatural ability to sense things, things they needed or wanted. Her self-deprecating humor when they were bickering and trying to hide it from her. The perfect movie to watch when Jon missed his Mom and didn’t want to talk about it. A silly game to play on a Sunday afternoon of freezing rain.</p><p> </p><p>He texted back: <em>Oregano, please, if you’re still there!</em></p><p> </p><p>She didn’t text back, which didn’t mean anything. On the communication front she lay somewhere between he and Jon. He, who over-communicated and Jon who… didn’t. For all her warmth she was exacting too, and rarely wasted six words on something that could be summarized in two.</p><p> </p><p>Robb got everything else ready, figuring that she would be stepping in the door within twenty minutes. The fridge was already stocked from a haul over the weekend, so like him she likely had just gone to pick up a few things.</p><p> </p><p>He opened a bottle of red wine, a cabernet she’d recommended when she’d seen it in the window of the wine shop. He took out two plates and knives and forks.</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t so much that he hoped Jon wouldn’t come home, only that he didn’t expect him to. Myrcella didn’t always eat dinner, but she might if he had made it for her.</p><p> </p><p>He pounded the chicken until it was flat and as expected, he heard the lock turning just inside of twenty minutes.</p><p> </p><p>He could tell it was her by the sheer volume of Grey Wind and Ghost’s tails hitting the floor as they greeted her. He didn’t hear her usual stream of endearments so he peered into the foyer just as she was stepping out of it into the kitchen. She held a couple of bags and set them on one of the chairs.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you see my text?,” he wondered, going over to the bags to unload them.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t answer him, she just walked back into the hallway. The jar of oregano was on top of one of the bags so he pulled it out and put the other things away.</p><p> </p><p>A moment later she came back into the kitchen, padding in on black tights clad feet, and finished putting her purchases away.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you alright?,” he asked her.</p><p> </p><p>It took a moment to realize that she hadn’t answered, he was focusing on going through the steps. Egg wash, bread crumbs and oregano, parmesan cheese, into the saute pan.</p><p> </p><p>As the first piece started to brown on one side he flipped it and then turned around.</p><p> </p><p>It was then that he realized why she hadn’t answered. Her cheeks, usually rosy, especially after she’d been in the cold, were pale.</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella?,” he asked, her vacant eyes sending a chill down his spine.</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head, “I’m being silly, I just saw -,” she pointed backwards and then shook his head, “I’m overreacting.”</p><p> </p><p>That seemed unlikely. She was not prone to overreactions, and as he’d predicted the night she’d moved in, she was not the sort to be easily overwhelmed. Some of it, he now knew, was a mask. A self that she put into the world. There were rivers flowing under the smooth ice of her composure, and if you looked close enough you might catch a glimpse of them every so often.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you remember I had that meeting at The Bolton Group last week?,” she asked. He nodded and she shook her head, “It’s so strange. I just ran into Ramsay at the market, or…outside the market really.”</p><p> </p><p>“I thought you met with someone in recruitment,” he clarified.</p><p> </p><p>“I did,” she nodded, “He stepped in for a moment. We were in this glassed in boardroom and he came in halfway through. And I just saw him.”</p><p> </p><p>Ramsay had been after Sansa a couple years prior. He’d shown a disturbing lack of concern for the fact that Sansa had no interest in him. He’d been persistent, Robb remembered. They’d had words by the end of it, but then Sansa moved away and got married and he’d never really thought of him again.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s not a good guy,” he told her, “Did he say something to you?”</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head, “He asked me where I lived. I told him the offices were around here and that I was going to a friend’s for dinner. I… gosh I don’t know what it is but he just creeps me out. I think it’s because reminds me of Joff a bit.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb grimaced, “Yeah.” Then looked at the bottle of wine, “Here, why don’t you sit and have a drink, it’ll take the edge off.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella nodded and then snapped her head almost violently, “No.”</p><p> </p><p>“No?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry I just… don’t like to interact with alcohol that way after…,” she trailed off.</p><p> </p><p>“Right, of course,” he agreed, feeling like a moron for even suggesting it.</p><p> </p><p>“That’ll burn,” she noted behind him.</p><p> </p><p>He had forgotten entirely that he had anything on the stove and turned quickly to take the chicken out and put it in the baking dish. He repeated the steps with the second piece of chicken and then felt her behind him.</p><p> </p><p>“Can I help?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“This is pretty close to being done,” he told her regretfully.</p><p> </p><p>“How about a salad then?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>He nodded and he felt her hand on his back briefly. A small press of it. Her way of saying thank you. A squeeze on the arm when he helped carry something for her, a slight scratch on the back when he bought her a drink.</p><p> </p><p>He made room on the counter for her and she starting pulling out vegetables. He grabbed the cutting board for her and she took out a knife and started chopping. He finished the other pieces of chicken and then covered them all in sauce and placed the mozzarella on top before putting it in the oven to bake.</p><p> </p><p>She finished the salad a few minutes later and placed it on the table. She set the two plates at their preferred seats and then the forks and knives in the appropriate places. She grabbed a bowl and put it at his side, knowing that he liked to keep his salad separate and then sat down.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve only just realized you’re home early,” she told him.</p><p> </p><p>“Gilly,” he explained.</p><p> </p><p>She smiled, “Bless that girl.”</p><p> </p><p>The chicken finished cooking shortly after and he doled out their pieces and they each took salad. He poured them both glasses of wine and her nerves were recovered enough that she took a sip.</p><p> </p><p>She asked him about his day and he about hers. She’d finally secured Marlin Durmond and had been interviewed by the Times about it that morning. They talked about a hundred different silly things and the color was back in her cheeks by the end of the meal.</p><p> </p><p>They cleaned up side by side, wrapping, scraping, washing, drying, wiping. A dance of banality.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s nice,” she told him, he looked over at her, “You being home early.”</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella I know that you can take care of yourself but…,” he started.</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” she said, with a light squeeze to his arm.</p><p> </p><p>They went their separate ways then. He took a long, hot shower. Though her nerves had been settled, his felt oddly awake.</p><p> </p><p>He wasn’t such a fool as to not know what it was. He had recognized the feeling immediately, though he wasn’t sure that he’d ever felt it before.</p><p> </p><p>There was a buzz, a swirling of energy when it was just the two of them. No, that wasn’t quite true. It was there when Jon was present as well. A crackling in the air. An understanding in the universe that they were on a precipice. That one or both or all of them might fall at any given moment.</p><p> </p><p>Sometimes, like tonight, as they laughed at familiar jokes and picked up conversations from days before without losing rhythm, he almost wanted to jump, and pull her with him.</p><p> </p><p>It was that impulse that lead him to her bedroom. He found himself wondering whether it had been a similar impulse of hers, that caused her to leave her door open.</p><p> </p><p>She was sitting in bed, the overhead light turned off, the bedside lamp on. She wasn’t under the covers but under a soft, cream colored throw, her body twisted towards the light as she read. Ghost and Grey Wind lay in a pile at the foot of her bed. She had a record playing, Alice Smith once again.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello you,” she said, without turning to look at him.</p><p> </p><p>“I need a new book,” he justified.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ll like this one,” she told him, holding up the book she had in her hands.</p><p> </p><p>Perhaps he wanted to hear the invitation in it, perhaps it wasn’t really there. Either way, she didn’t protest as he walked into the room and sat on the other side of her bed. She handed him the book.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t want to lose your place,” he said.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m on page thirteen,” she yawned, turning on her side so that she was facing him. “Tell me when you get there.”</p><p> </p><p>“What will you do?,” he asked softly.</p><p> </p><p>She closed her eyes, “Lay here.”</p><p> </p><p>“It may take me a while then,” he teased. Confessed.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes opened slowly. There hadn’t been a moment since he’d first met her that he had been able to forget how beautiful she was. Beautiful wasn’t even the right word. He knew, he knew that Jon saw it too. Whatever it was. He knew that meant this could only end in pain. His or hers or his. Maybe everyone’s. And as he looked in her eyes it was clear she knew it too.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s alright,” she told him, closing her eyes. She pulled the blanket up, past her chin. “Being in your company is better than being alone.”</p><p> </p><p>If she were anyone else he might have teased her, saying <em>Oh I’m honored. </em>But the truth was, he was. Because he knew she meant it, and that the fact of it meant something to her. Not for the first time, he thought about the similarities she shared with Jon.</p><p> </p><p>They’d talked about it the other week. Robb had a thing with his family and Jon and Myrcella had gone off and done a bunch of errands together. While Myrcella was in the bath, having sprinted in claiming that her feet were freezing off, he helped Jon unpack the things they’d bought. He asked him what they talked about. Jon had been undescriptive and Robb challenged him, saying, <em>You were with her about five hours </em>and Jon merely shrugged and told him, <em>She’s used to being on her own and she knows that I am too. She’s as comfortable with silence as I am.</em></p><p> </p><p>Robb knew that Jon was as comfortable being with him as he was on his own. That it was that comfort that had long sustained their friendship, even more than the deep mutual love and respect and their long intertwined history.</p><p> </p><p>He wondered briefly what it was about him that attracted such good, quiet things. He wondered briefly if Jon ever though that way, when Myrcella laughed easily and often, the parts of her that were more similar to him.</p><p> </p><p>Robb wondered if he noticed that she was the best parts of each of them, and in no way were those the best parts of her.</p><p> </p><p>The thing he’d learned over the years was that Jon didn’t always want to hear it back. When he doled out bits of himself, it was enough for him to know that you heard it, without wanting to hear anything in return.</p><p> </p><p>So Robb didn’t tell her that being in her company was better than being in anyone’s. Instead he turned his focus to the book, smiling as he finished the first paragraph. The narrator was unreliable already. You didn’t believe him, not for a second, and yet you knew that he believed himself whole-heartedly. The world as he saw it was the not the world as it was and yet it was his.</p><p> </p><p>It was so engrossing that even with Myrcella lying beside him, her eyes opening and closing every so often, watching his eyes travel the words she knew already, watching his fingers turn the page, he made it to page thirteen in short order.</p><p> </p><p>“What now?,” he asked softly.</p><p> </p><p>Her small hand reached out and for a brief moment he thought she might hold his hand. Of course though she actually took the book from it and sat up slightly.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll read,” she told him and looked at him seriously, “I’m better at the voices.”</p><p> </p><p>He fought a grin and nodded, because she was. She could do all sorts. Very old men and femme fatales. Southern snobs and a great impression of Jon.</p><p> </p><p>He scooted further down the bed until he was lying fully, turning his body towards her. It had been many years since he’d been read to, he couldn’t even remember the last time.</p><p> </p><p>Her voice had a musical quality to it, in the rise and fall of it, her cadence and her tone. She spoke like a story teller, even when she was only listing things she needed at the store.</p><p> </p><p>She lifted her throw blanket and pulled it over to give some to him and then she started reading. It was a great story, an old pirate one he’d never read. There were the stock parts you’d come to expect, the mysteriously noble captain and the naval officer who was after him, the fair maiden, and half a dozen side characters all with their own ends and means, their little ticks that you just knew would come together in the final act. He tried to look for the real villain, knowing it would be someone overlooked.</p><p> </p><p>After about fifty pages, Myrcella’s voice got softer. The fair maiden started to sound quite a bit like the befuddled shopkeeper, and she yawned every other page.</p><p> </p><p>“Here,” he said, “I’ll take over.” Then realized she might just want to go to sleep. “Or we could pick it up later.”</p><p> </p><p>She placed the book on his chest, her eyes closed, and he lifted it gently, allowing the pads of her finger tips to land where the book had been. He wasn’t sure if she even realized it, she looked minutes from sleep, so he started reading in low, steady tone. No voices, nothing that would break the spell. He wondered if her fingers were close enough to his heart that she could feel it beating rapidly.</p><p> </p><p>He read on, but he lost the story. If he had been asked what happened after page sixty-five he couldn’t have told you. He couldn’t have told you that the fair maiden escaped her captors only to be captured once again. That the old captain turned out to be the son of a duke, whose family had stolen his one chance of happiness and so he’d taken to the seas.</p><p> </p><p>He would have been able to tell you though, that it was at page eighty-one that she’d well and truly fallen asleep. And probably wouldn’t have been forthcoming that he went on reading long after that.</p><p> </p><p>As his eyes started to droop and his voice turned to gravel, he heard the front door open. There was very little he could do. If he got out of her bed now it would only look more suspicious than it was. As it stood, it was just two friends reading together, but if he raced out of her bedroom it would only seem like something more sinister. Even still he didn’t relish watching Jon seeing them in bed together.</p><p> </p><p>It was then Robb knew that all narrators are unreliable, not to be counted on to tell the truth, even to themselves.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” he said as casually as he was able.</p><p> </p><p>Jon looked at Myrcella’s hand, which had moved slightly, retreated back onto the bed, near his side, so that now it appeared she was reaching out for him. Which perhaps was worse.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” Jon nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“There’s chicken parm, if you want it,” he told him.</p><p> </p><p>Jon nodded again and looked at Myrcella’s sleeping form, “You coming?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, of course,” Robb agreed.</p><p> </p><p>Jon stood in the doorway so Robb got off the bed, turning the corner of the page - one of Myrcella’s worst habits - to keep their place at page sixty-five. He returned the bit of blanket Myrcella had lent to him. If Jon hadn’t been watching he might pull her comforter over her, but as it stood he just walked around to her side of the bed and turned out the light.</p><p> </p><p>“Come on,” Jon said as he neared the door, and it was only when Grey Wind and Ghost stood up that he realized he wasn’t talking to him.</p><p> </p><p>They closed the door behind him and headed into the kitchen. Jon got out the plate of chicken parm and Robb pointed to the leftover salad as well.</p><p> </p><p>“You make this?,” Jon asked as he started to dig in.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, ended early today,” Robb nodded and Jon glanced at him, so Robb explained, “Gilly.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon nodded, shoveling more food into his mouth. It wasn’t rare on long, rough days that Jon wouldn’t have eaten a thing between when he left the house and when he returned to it.</p><p> </p><p>“We were just reading,” Robb told him, knowing that his defensiveness was a clear admission of guilt - in thought if not in deed.</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t ask,” Jon pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t do that,” Robb chided.</p><p> </p><p>Jon put down his fork and looked at him, “What do you want me to say?”</p><p> </p><p>Robb looked at him for a moment and shook his head, “I don’t know.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay then,” Jon picked his fork back up and started eating again.</p><p> </p><p>Robb got up and grabbed the bottle of wine and two glasses, pouring some for each of them and then pushing Jon’s toward him. He took a small sip and scratched Ghost behind the ears as Jon ate.</p><p> </p><p>“At a certain point,” Robb said and Jon’s chewing slowed, “We are going to have to talk about it.”</p><p> </p><p>“We don’t know that there is anything to talk about,” Jon pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>Both their heads turned in the direction of Myrcella’s bedroom, and he knew then, as he sometimes did, that his and Jon’s thoughts in that moment were exactly the same. That there was a woman in the next room that made them both want to be better, and yet of course, could even more easily destroy them both. That more importantly it could destroy them, the friendship they had built over the years, one of the solid pieces of granite they had built their lives upon. That it might be better, for all of them, if she came to love them as brothers, in that safe, sturdy way. That a quiet, lonely heartbreak would in the end, be better for all of them.</p><p> </p><p>Robb turned back to Jon and their eyes met.</p><p> </p><p>He thought of long, heated looks and bedroom laughter. A blush on her cheeks and fear in her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Robb disagreed, “We do.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>He was such a cliche. Somehow, Friday’s at five o’clock had become his happy time. <em>Working for the weekend</em>.</p><p> </p><p>It was hard not to enjoy it though. The entire city became alit with a hundred thousand currents. Sure, he had to go into the office tomorrow but that didn’t matter, because he’d been at the pub for the past hour and most of his friends had trickled in. He’d hardly had anything to drink, knowing that he needed his head on straight for the next day, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that he was here, they all were.</p><p> </p><p>Almost everyone. Myrcella had informed him and Robb that morning that she was having drinks with a few girlfriends from work. They’d suggested she bring them, knowing how much their guy friends appreciated new blood in the mix but she had demurred saying that it wasn’t their scene.</p><p> </p><p>If he had to guess, Myrcella was still on her best behavior at work. She’d only been there two months, and Tormund wasn’t exactly the guy you introduced to someone who might be writing a peer review for you until you were sure you had it in the bag. Jon was sure that she did, but Myrcella held herself to different standards than the rest of the world.</p><p> </p><p>So it was that everyone else was there. Robb had come in a half hour earlier with Gilly over his shoulder, depositing her laughing into Sam’s arms. Apparently he’d hung up on a distributor she was on the phone with mid-call and dragged her out of the office.</p><p> </p><p>“So all day then?,” Robb asked as they sat at the bar.</p><p> </p><p>Jon nodded, “Yeah, but I’m off Sunday so tell your Mom I’ll be there for lunch.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb nodded, “Myrcella’s coming too. Mom’s thrilled to finally get her out there.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon nodded, sipping his beer, “I bet.”</p><p> </p><p>“Stop it,” Robb sighed.</p><p> </p><p>“Dude she’s planning the wedding already, you know that,” Jon chuckled.</p><p> </p><p>“She is not,” Robb argued. “She just… finds her impressive.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon shrugged, “Well she is impressive.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb nodded and drained his drink, setting it down on the bar and tracing his finger around the rim of the glass. Jon watched his finger as well, around and around.</p><p> </p><p>The Starks had taken them all to dinner Myrcella’s second week in Wintertown. It was then that Jon heard the full story, or as close as he’d gotten anyway, of her father’s rehabilitation. Ned clearly had a soft spot for her, but Catelyn was usually the tougher nut to crack when it came to friends of Robb’s. Especially women.</p><p> </p><p>Never in his life had Jon seen someone so thoroughly and effortlessly charm Catelyn Stark. She was a kind woman, no one knew that more than him, and loyal to her own, but she was rarely impressed by anyone. Myrcella though, through some combination of wit, poise and that extra <em>something </em>only she seemed to possess, had done it. And Jon had seen the look Catelyn had given Ned when Robb helped Myrcella into her coat.</p><p> </p><p>Theon came over and started talking to Robb. Or rather, to both of them but only Robb was fully paying attention. Jon felt his phone buzz in his pocket and he took it out and saw that he had a text from Myrcella.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Hey are you at the pub?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Weirdly it wasn’t in the group text that they shared with Robb. She texted him on his own sometimes, but usually he’d come back from a meeting to forty-five messages of her and Robb discussing what to do that night. He glanced at Robb to see if he’d gotten anything but he gave him an odd look and then continued listening to Theon’s story.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Yeah, you coming?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>The bubbles appeared immediately and a moment later she responded <em>No I’m at Harlow + Sound. I’m sorry to ask, but can you come get me?</em></p><p> </p><p>His antenna rose. Harlow + Sound was just around the corner and it wasn’t even six o’clock. Myrcella would go running at 9 o’clock at night sometimes just because she could. It was one of her favorite things about Wintertown, how safe she felt out on her own at night.</p><p> </p><p><em>I’ll be right there, </em>he typed out as he thought all this through.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Can you come alone?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Okay</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>And I’m sorry but can you pretend you’re my boyfriend?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Jon stood up and patted Robb on the shoulder, “Something came up. Can you sign for me when you clear out?”</p><p> </p><p>Robb nodded, “Sure but don’t you want to just do it now?”</p><p> </p><p>Jon shook his head, “No, thanks. Later.”</p><p> </p><p>With that he headed out of the bar without giving anyone else a second glance let alone a goodbye. Myrcella never asked for help. Unless it was reaching for something off a high shelf or opening a jar of something after she’d thoroughly banged it on the kitchen counter to no effect. She had never once asked for any interference when they went out, even though she got hit on practically everywhere.</p><p> </p><p>He hoped he’d laugh at himself for overreacting later, but he started running towards the bar. People probably thought he was crazy. He <em>knew </em>that it was. It was just such an odd series of requests from someone who so rarely made any.</p><p> </p><p>He got there in under two minutes and opened the door of the bar.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh there you are!,” he heard a voice coo at him and he saw Myrcella sitting at a booth with some guy.</p><p> </p><p>He looked familiar, dark hair, blue eyes. Jon made his way over to the table and slid in next to Myrcella, wrapping an arm around her.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry I’m late, darlin’,” he said with a kiss to her cheek.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh that’s alright,” she smiled at him, her hand squeezing his leg.<em> Thank you</em>, that squeeze said, as all the ones to his arm had in the past. “It gave me an opportunity to speak to Ramsay here. His father’s company is going to take their largest crop of interns yet for the spring.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon’s adrenaline, which had been up before was now sky rocketing. Ramsay. The guy who had all but stalked Sansa, caring not that she wasn’t interested in him, or in love with someone else. Ramsay, who seemed to have an odd habit recently of showing up wherever Myrcella was.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s great,” Jon said calmly, “I’m sure they’ll do you both proud. I hate to cut this short but we do have a reservation…”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah yes,” Ramsay smiled, speaking for the first time, “Myrcella told me you had a prior engagement. Perhaps next time.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella smiled at him and Jon asked her, “Are you all closed out, darlin’?”</p><p> </p><p>She turned towards him, looking up at him and batting her eyelashes. He knew it was all part of it but it didn’t stop him from feeling it right in his heart.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I was just waiting on you,” she said, stroking his cheek. “Shall we?”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded dumbly and slid out of the booth, pulling her with him. Her coat was hanging on a hook right next to it so he held it open for her and she placed her arms in. They both waved briefly at Ramsay and then Jon guided her out at as slow a pace as he was able.</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella -,” he started as they got out into the night air.</p><p> </p><p>“Not yet,” she shook her head, quickening her pace.</p><p> </p><p>“The pub’s-“</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t want to go there,” she shook her head and then looked at him, “Can we go somewhere? Just you and me? Just for a while?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” he answered in a voice softer than he’d ever heard. For some reason it felt appropriate to wrap his arm around her waist, so he did, and he felt her press closer to his side. “Yeah there’s a wine bar on Clark. No one under sixty goes there.”</p><p> </p><p>“Perfect,” she smiled.</p><p> </p><p>It was in between the pub and their apartment, but he took her the long way so that they wouldn’t walk by either. The last thing she needed was for one of their friends to see them and beckon them inside.</p><p> </p><p>He would be lying if he said that wasn’t the last thing he wanted either.</p><p> </p><p>It was a basement bar, and the air smelled like wine and butter. The hostess told them to sit wherever, so they went and sat on the loveseat in the small sitting area by one of the windows.</p><p> </p><p>They took off their coats and got settled in. A waitress came over a moment later.</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll have a bottle of your darkest cab,” Jon told her without glancing at the menu, “And some bread, please.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry,” Myrcella said as the waitress left them on their own.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t be,” he told her, “He’s a creep.”</p><p> </p><p>“Usually I can take care of myself,” she said and then looked him in the eyes, “There’s just something about him. It’s different, somehow. I feel it… in my stomach.”</p><p> </p><p>“Never ignore your gut,” he told her, “You…always regret it, in my experience.”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded, and then confessed, “I don’t like feeling like I need your protection.”</p><p> </p><p>“Everyone needs someone’s protection,” he reasoned.</p><p> </p><p>“Even you?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>He nodded, “Especially me. I have a whole team who has my back. Trust me, you’re good.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiled sadly, “You know it’s funny -“</p><p> </p><p>She stopped speaking as the waitress placed two wine glasses in front of them and then opened the bottle without a flourish. She filled the glasses, obviously sensing they weren’t the sort of table that wanted to try it and approve of it. That they’d prefer to just be left alone.</p><p> </p><p>He leaned forward and grabbed the glasses, handing one to Myrcella.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s funny?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Hmm?,” she wondered taking a sip of her wine. “Oh. Well it’s not so much as funny as strange really. Perhaps only I would notice…”</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella,” he prodded.</p><p> </p><p>She turned to look at him, her eyes wandering over his face, “It’s just everyone always says how good you are. Most never remark on how kind.”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe that’s because I’m not,” he told her, taking a sip, “Kind.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, you are,” she argued gently. “You’re one of the kindest people I’ve ever met.”</p><p> </p><p>“To them, I mean,” he noted.</p><p> </p><p>She smiled that slow smile. The one that started at her left dimple and traveled leisurely to her right one. He wanted to follow that path.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you saying I’m special?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t do that,” he chided in annoyance.</p><p> </p><p>“Do what?,” she asked in faux-surprise.</p><p> </p><p>“Think you’re tricking me into something,” he noted, “We both know you are.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiled at him briefly and then looked down at her wine glass that hovered over her lap. Her hair was twisted up and held with a pin, revealing her slender neck. She had the familiar flush to her cheeks. He watched as she circled the rim of her glass with her index finger.</p><p> </p><p>“So then let me ask you something,” he posed.</p><p> </p><p>She glanced at him briefly, “Go on then,” before she took a sip from her glass.</p><p> </p><p>“Why did you text me?,” he asked. <em>Why did you want me to come alone</em>, he didn’t say.</p><p> </p><p>“Robb has a history with Ramsay,” she answered quickly.</p><p> </p><p>Too quickly, as though she’d been anticipating that question and had her answer primed and ready.</p><p> </p><p>“And that’s all,” he dangled.</p><p> </p><p>She sighed and set her glass down, “You know how Robb gets. He has this thing about me.”</p><p> </p><p>“And I?,” he wondered, “What then?”</p><p> </p><p>At a party last weekend, Myrcella had gone around and round telling everyone the literary character they most resembled. Theon was Hamlet. Gilly was Deborah Bronski. And he was Mr. Knightley.</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t know much about the character, but Ros and Jeyne and Gilly cooed <em>of course! </em>That night he looked him up, looking for signs of her meaning. At first he’d been slightly offended. He could really be the most judgmental fellow. And then he saw it.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>if I loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Of all the sentences written across the centuries, he had never understood one more than that.</p><p> </p><p>He had thought, in that moment, that she might understand it too. That it might have been another clue, another piece. He looked at her now and thought perhaps that he had been wrong all along. That she not been lending pieces of herself, that they were just books after all.</p><p> </p><p>“Are more capable of restraint,” she told him softly.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s all?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s all,” she confirmed. She went to pick her wine glass back up but stopped and asked, “You are, aren’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Didn’t I seem restrained?,” he wondered.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” she agreed, her eyes wandering over his face, “That’s what frightens me.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re safe with me,” he told her.</p><p> </p><p>He was stalling. No more, no less. And she was undeterred.</p><p> </p><p>“And from you,” she reasoned.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course,” he grimaced.</p><p> </p><p>“How many people apart from me can say that?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>This was a dangerous path. He felt them running down it in the dark. There were branches and errant stones. Half a million things to trip over. And what was at the bottom, waiting for them?</p><p> </p><p>“You see,” Myrcella said when he didn’t answer. She picked up her glass and clinked it lightly against his, “I really am special.”</p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t bear to look at her. Not now.</p><p> </p><p>“I thought you understood,” he confessed quietly.</p><p> </p><p>“That you’re the good guys who do bad things to keep us safe?,” she asked. He nodded. “I do.” He felt her hand on his chin turning it towards her. Slowly he lifted his eyes to hers. “I do.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then why do you look like you wish you’d call Robb?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>She dropped her hand, tucking a lock of hair that had escaped the pin behind her ear. She looked down at her lap and he wondered if this was it. If she was going to tell him that she knew, she knew how he felt about her but that in the end, it was Robb.</p><p> </p><p>“Because I was afraid he’d panic. I thought he’d overreact. Cause a scene. Threaten him, punch him, pummel him,” she told him instead, her pale green eyes looking into his, “But I’m looking in your eyes right now and you’re not panicked. Not even slightly. And that worries me more than anything else.”</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella I sprinted there,” he told her, half in relief.</p><p> </p><p>“You what?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Sprinted there,” he admitted, shrugging, “Didn’t even pay my bill. I just booked it.”</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes scrunched at the side, and her voice that had been so solemn a moment ago was now tinged in delight. “You didn’t!”</p><p> </p><p>“I swear,” he held his hand up. She giggled and it felt like a victory. And yet, even though he’d achieved what he wanted to, it didn’t feel right. It felt like a lie. He reached for her, as he rarely allowed himself to do. That lock of hair had escaped again and he tucked it once again behind her ear, and rubbed the lobe of it. “I know there is a difference between my work and my life. I know that your safety is not imperative to the survival of the Seven Kingdoms. But I also know how to identify an enemy.”</p><p> </p><p>She leaned her cheek against his hand and smiled sadly, “You had me, you know, Jon. Convinced me and everything. You could have lied.”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t do that,” he told her. Leaning a little closer to her, “Not to you.”</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes went wide and they took on that hazy quality she sometimes got when they stood to close to one another for too long. The look that always stubbornly entered his mind when he was trying to convince himself that her feelings towards him were sisterly, no more, no less.</p><p> </p><p>Her voice was barely louder than a whisper when she asked, “Don’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>Her back was to the seat and it was he who was moving towards her. She didn’t stop him though, showed no signs of wanting to. So he moved closer yet. Still far enough that it could be nothing more than friendly, if they both lied very hard to themselves and one another.</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella,” he breathed.</p><p> </p><p>“Robb,” she breathed out.</p><p> </p><p>And all at once he stumbled on the path. It wasn’t the branches or the pebbles. It was the roots of a large old tree. The one he’d seen a million times, and yet had forgotten was there at all.</p><p> </p><p>“No-,” he started.</p><p> </p><p>“Robb’s here,” she said, “There.”</p><p> </p><p>And then she was smiling and waving at Robb, or the place Robb had been only a moment ago. Jon felt a rush of cold air envelop him and a moment later Robb was standing in front of them.</p><p> </p><p>Jon lowered his hand so that it was resting on the back of Myrcella’s seat.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s going on here?,” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I ran into a bit of trouble,” Myrcella told him calmly, “Didn’t feel like lots of people.”</p><p> </p><p>“I can go,” Robb said, gesturing toward the door.</p><p> </p><p>“No, don’t be silly! You’re not people, you know that,” Myrcella argued, leaning forward and patting the chair beside the sofa. “Sit, we’ll get you a glass and I can tell you all about my night.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb glanced at him and Jon did his best to smile, gesturing to the chair as well. He sat down and Myrcella waved over the waitress who brought Robb a glass.</p><p> </p><p>“So,” Myrcella clapped her hands, “I went to Harlow + Sound and <em>guess </em>who shows up.”</p><p> </p><p>“If you say Ramsay Bolton I am <em>literally </em>going to destroy him,” Robb warned her.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella poured him a glass of wine and said, “Well then it was a very nice man named Bartholomew.”</p><p> </p><p>“This is getting out of control,” Robb said, looking between them.</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” Jon agreed.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not worried,” Myrcella demurred, taking a casual sip of her wine.</p><p> </p><p>“Well good,” Robb said, “Because you have absolutely nothing to worry about.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella sighed and leaned back against the sofa, sipping her wine. She glanced at him briefly and Jon was suddenly very relieved as well that she had texted him and not Robb. He had been, but for different reasons. He liked being the person that she turned to. He liked sitting alone in the dark with her, every word between them charged. He liked running through the woods with her, even if it was dangerous. Now though, he thought of it as he should. Robb had a history with Ramsay, but Jon knew better than anyone that he didn’t need one to feel what he was feeling now. Jon had looked into his eyes. Ramsay wasn’t going to stop, not unless someone made him. And it was not pride that made Jon want to be the one to do it now, but love, for Robb. A protectiveness that had shown itself on the football field and had rarely needed to come out since.</p><p> </p><p>It was that protectiveness that also wanted to steer them away from the conversation they were very quickly heading towards. The question Robb had surely thought the moment he saw them sitting together. The one that Jon didn’t want to answer, had refused to answer ever since Myrcella had walked into her bedroom and smiled at him in a way that hit him right in the gut.</p><p> </p><p>“Did everyone go home?,” Jon asked Robb.</p><p> </p><p>Robb shook his head, “No some people are still there, but I wasn’t really feeling it.”</p><p> </p><p>What he meant hung between them all. It was clear as day. Myrcella was right. Robb had absolutely no restraint. He wore his heart on his sleeve. The best heart there ever was, or ever would be, right out there exposed, with no thought of protecting it.</p><p> </p><p>He had been sitting at the pub, missing them. While they were here. While Jon hadn’t been thinking about him at all.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m just going to pop to the ladies,” Myrcella said and stood up, her hand squeezing Robb’s shoulder as she made her way there.</p><p> </p><p>He and Robb sat there for a moment in silence and then Robb told him, “I thought it was work.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hmm?,” he asked, taking a sip of his wine.</p><p> </p><p>“The text,” Robb explained, “I thought it was work. That that’s why you had to leave.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, no, she uh…,” Jon gestured vaguely.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Robb nodded. He smiled a sad, angry smile, “You could have told me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Jon agreed.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella walked back towards them then and plopped down back on the couch, right in between them.</p><p> </p><p>“So I’ve been thinking,” she said and they both turned to look at her. “And I <em>still </em>can’t think of your literary character.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon glanced at Robb, having no idea what he would do. Whether he would press the issue or give in, to her, even if he knew she was diverting him on purpose. Whether he would let them have their secrets. And a nagging feeling that told him if he did, it may just be because he had his own secrets with her as well.</p><p> </p><p>Robb smirked smugly and leaned back, widening his legs, “What can I say? I’m one of a kind.”</p><p> </p><p>“Boooo,” Myrcella teased, pretending to throw things at him.</p><p> </p><p>Jon smiled as well, making Myrcella laugh with some of his more insane suggestions. Robb offered some of his own, all preposterous of course, until Myrcella was laughing so hard that they had to join in.</p><p> </p><p>That was the thing of it. Her. Them. She brought them to the brink itself, and then, every time, she found a way to bring them back.</p><p> </p><p>They finished the bottle of wine and the bread and walked home together. It had turned bitterly cold in the hour or so they’d been inside, turning the side walks to sheets of ice. Even holding onto each of them Myrcella slipped this way and that, and the three of them were laughing so hard as she tried to stay upright that the tears were freezing on their cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>When they got inside, Jon went to check his emails, while Myrcella went to get changed and Robb went to walk Ghost and Grey Wind around the block. When it was clear everything was set for the next day he closed his computer and went into the kitchen to get some water.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella was standing there, in blue silk pajama bottoms and a fuzzy white sweater. She was in front of the kettle, waiting for it boil.</p><p> </p><p>“Tea?,” she asked, turned her head slightly.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” he answered and it was only from the way her back went rigid that he knew it had come out far more gruffly then he’d meant it.</p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t help it though. She was standing there in their kitchen. Perfect and lovely. And in spite of himself, in spite of the love he had for Robb and his deep desire not to hurt him, he couldn’t stop thinking about what might have happened if he hadn’t shown up when he did.</p><p> </p><p>It was that thought that caused him to walk forward and turn her around.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon,” she said. His name, the right name this time.</p><p> </p><p>So he pulled her towards him, no restraint, he just pulled her towards him, tilting her face up towards him and pressed his lips to hers. Hers were soft and warm and they molded exactly to his. He felt her hands on his chest and for a brief, horrifying moment he thought she was going to push him away but instead she scrunched his shirt in her hands, pulling him closer. He deepened the kiss then, wanting to make the most of it in case it was his only chance.</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” he said raggedly, when he pulled away from her slightly. She looked up at him and he shook his head. He didn’t have the words, he never did. She had never seemed to mind before though, it was one of his favorite things about her. So he choose the truth, the simplest and most terrifying words. “I know I don’t talk about it. But I feel it. All of it. For you.”</p><p> </p><p>Her held tilted to the side as her eyes wandered over his face. He could feel them, practically. It made him feel entirely exposed and it made him want to look away from her. But then her hands moved up his chest and she took his face in between them, forcing him to look at her once more, and then it was her who was kissing him. He fell into it, against her, wrapping his arms more firmly around her back, squeezing her to him. Her lips moved against his in a rambling fashion, as though she too didn’t have the words. As though they really had never needed them at all.</p><p> </p><p>He heard footsteps on the door and Myrcella pulled out of his arms. She reached forward briefly, stepping towards him, and then turned and walked away, and he heard her bedroom door close just before the front door opened.</p><p> </p><p>Jon reached above him and grabbed a glass and then the water out of the fridge.</p><p> </p><p>“Dude,” Robb admonished and Jon straightened up.</p><p> </p><p>He wiped his face, making sure there was nothing on it before he turned around, “What?”</p><p> </p><p>Robb gestured to the stove, to the exact place where he had just been standing with Myrcella, and only then did Jon notice the whistle of the kettle.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s going to boil over,” Robb warned.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>👀 Okay at this point I am literally begging to hear what you think</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi all, thanks so much for your comments on the last chapter. You really don't know what a difference it makes to a writer! </p><p>I do want to say that you should all please heed the tags, while I don't like to give anything away it is important to know that both pairings will be in this fic, as well as the three of them together. I don't like to give away spoilers but if you are thinking there is going to be one run-away pairing, I think you may be disappointed and I wouldn't want that. </p><p>Anyway, I hope you enjoy!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She hadn’t slept. Not a wink. She tossed and turned all night. When she turned this way, flashes, brilliant flashes of being in Jon’s arms, and when she turned the other, the sad look on Robb’s face when he’d seen them from the window. Round and round and round she turned. Every time she closed her eyes she saw one of them.</p><p> </p><p>If she was honest with herself, she had known this was coming. It had been evident from the start, that she affected them, perhaps even as much as they affected her. She tried to ignore it. When they went out she searched the crowd for a face, any face, that might be more attractive to her than theirs. When that failed she still spoke to many of them, hoping that one would be as sweet as Robb or as kind as Jon, that they’d make her laugh until her sides hurt, or that she’d care about their day.</p><p> </p><p>It was futile, though. Most women didn’t have the luck to meet one perfect guy, and she was so rotten with it that she had met two.</p><p> </p><p>And she knew, she knew how they felt about her. Even Jon, the quieter, more reserved of the two. She had seen it.</p><p> </p><p>But if she’d been a gambling woman she would have put all her money on Robb - that he would have been the one to kiss her. More affectionate, more confident, more external. There’d been half a dozen times in the past two weeks that she thought he might.</p><p> </p><p>Jon. <em>Jon</em>. Kind, good, quiet Jon, who treated her with such care. Who was better than she deserved.</p><p> </p><p>They both were.</p><p> </p><p>She lay awake all night and thought about them. It was not the first time she had done so. They had been in her thoughts more and more ever since she first met them. On her walk to work her mind would drift to one or both of them in their suits. At the grocery store she’d get the ingredients for something Jon loved, and as she was dressing in the morning she’d pull on a dress that had made Robb’s eyes linger on her.</p><p> </p><p>Hours she had spent, thinking of these men. These peculiar men who had entered her life a month and a half earlier and changed it irrevocably.</p><p> </p><p>Her head had never been turned like this, and now it had turned twice, over and over and over, in a dizzying pattern.</p><p> </p><p>She lay awake all night, so she heard when Robb took Grey Wind out around three. And when Jon got up at six. She heard the shower turn on and Ghost shuffle into the kitchen. She heard the front door close and open again a few minutes later. She heard him walk by her door. Once, twice, three times. She felt him standing out there, in front of it. And just when she thought she might be wrong she heard him knock twice, softly. She heard him wait for an answer, and the slow heavy steps when he didn’t receive one.</p><p> </p><p>She heard the front door close and only then did she tiptoe out of bed and go to the window. A moment later she saw Jon walking out the front steps and though she knew it was far too dark to see her, he turned around anyway and looked up.</p><p> </p><p>She moved from the window and opened her door to find Ghost laying in front of it.</p><p> </p><p>“Come on, boy,” she urged and he got up happily and hopped onto her bed.</p><p> </p><p>She closed the door and climbed back in, and Ghost scooted up the bed to lay his head on the pillow facing her. She stroked his soft white fur, taking comfort in the woodsy hum he let out when she did. She looked into his crimson eyes, searching for judgment but finding only love there.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella closed her eyes, not being able to cope with the unadulterated affection of this sweet, loyal dog.</p><p> </p><p>It was useless though. Sleep wouldn’t be coming to her, she knew that.</p><p> </p><p>She kissed Ghost on his soft forehead, scratching him behind the ears and then got out of bed. She padded into the bathroom and turned on the shower until the temperature was scalding and then undressed and got in. It smelled of Jon’s body wash, the one she’d smelled lingering on his skin last night even though it had been hours since he’d used it.</p><p> </p><p>She felt his hands on her back, his fingers on her ear, his lips on hers.</p><p> </p><p>There were so many places he hadn’t touched. So many places she wanted him to. She imagined him in there with her. She could see his strong chest and arms. He and Robb both had a habit of showering while she was sitting in the living room, walking by her with a towel wrapped haphazardly around their waists before disappearing into their rooms to get dressed.</p><p> </p><p>She wanted to feel his body pressed to hers, both of theirs warmed by the water and one another. His leg between hers. His hands on her bare skin. His lips on her neck.</p><p> </p><p>She wondered if he ever thought of her when he was in here. If his hands ever wandered down his body as hers did now.</p><p> </p><p>She was wet. She knew that though. She had been all night. Even before Jon had kissed her. Sitting there, with him. The way he leaned closer to her, looking at her like she wasn’t wholly real.</p><p> </p><p>She let out a soft moan as she rubbed herself, thinking of him. Feeling herself building, imagining it was his hands. A voice asking her if she liked it.</p><p> </p><p>But she knew that voice, and it wasn’t Jon’s. It was Robb’s.</p><p> </p><p>Suddenly it was Robb in the shower with her. Her cheeks in his hands as he devoured her mouth.</p><p> </p><p>But there were other hands on her. Too many. And yet she craved it. Both of them. Around and around and around.</p><p> </p><p>“Mmm<em>mm</em>,” she whimpered as she fell off the edge.</p><p> </p><p>She breathed deeply, her back against the wall, and when she opened her eyes her vision was spotty. She leaned her head underneath the shower head, letting the falling water erase everything else.</p><p> </p><p>“Get it together,” she ordered harshly.</p><p> </p><p>Tasks had always helped her, so she went about the business of washing her hair and her body and her face. She got out of the shower and patted herself dry before wrapping a towel around her body and then wrapping her hair in another.</p><p> </p><p>She padded back to her bedroom and sat on her bed. She checked her phone and saw that Jon had texted. Her heart started to race even as her stomach churned.</p><p> </p><p>She leaned against her pillows and opened the text and her eyes stung upon reading it.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Don’t decide anything until we talk. Please.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>He knew her so well. In a month and half he had come to know her better than anyone.</p><p> </p><p>Almost anyone.</p><p> </p><p><em>Promise</em>, she responded.</p><p> </p><p>She got off her bed in a hurry. A hurry to move, a hurry to leave. A hurry to be anywhere but here when Robb woke.</p><p> </p><p>He’d know something was wrong the moment he saw her, and it wasn’t fair to speak to him about it before speaking to Jon.</p><p> </p><p>But so too, neither was kissing Jon before speaking to Robb.</p><p> </p><p>She buried the heels of her palms in her eyes, forcing herself not to cry. Crying was a useless, painful thing and she did not go in for self-pity. Not when it was her fault that she was in this position in the first place.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella got off the bed and walked into the half bath attached to her room. She pulled out her hair dryer and her round brush, knowing she could use it without waking Robb who slept like the dead. She blow dried her hair until it fell in soft waves and then brushed her teeth. She put on moisturizer and chapstick, knowing that if she was out in the cold for more than thirty seconds her face and lips would dry out.</p><p> </p><p>She pulled on a pair of beat up, slouchy jeans and a black long sleeved shirt, putting an oversized grey sweater on top. She put on a pair of cashmere socks and then grabbed a book off her shelf, not even bothering to see which one it was.</p><p> </p><p>She grabbed the bag that had her wallet and keys and stuffed the book inside along with her cell phone and then walked into the hall.</p><p> </p><p>“Want to come with me, puppy?,” she asked Ghost.</p><p> </p><p>He had been laying in the living room, seemingly waiting for her and he hopped up happily and trotted after her into the front hall. She pulled on her black, shearling lined snow boots and grabbed her parka from the hook, pulling on her hat and mittens and then hooked Ghost’s leash onto his collar.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella glanced briefly at the door to Robb’s room before opening the front door and pulling it shut as quietly as she was able. She and Ghost walked outside, into the freezing morning air. It was the sort of cold that assaulted you, a thousand tiny knives looking for any place you’d left vulnerable.</p><p> </p><p>Ghost didn’t seem to mind, and his gait had a bounce to it as they walked in the purple-grey of a new day. There was no one out on the streets, and she walked as quickly as the ice allowed them to towards the cafe.</p><p> </p><p>The soft light was on inside and as Myrcella opened the door the warmth engulfed her immediately.</p><p> </p><p>Sophie was at the counter yawning, her hair up in a slouchy pony tail wearing the sweatshirt from her high school.</p><p> </p><p>“Broke curfew again, huh?,” Myrcella greeted her. Sophie blushed and Myrcella grinned. “Worse?”</p><p> </p><p>Sophie peered around the empty cafe and leaned forward so Myrcella did the same.</p><p> </p><p>“I snuck Simon in, Dad caught us,” Sophie confessed.</p><p> </p><p>“Soph!,” Myrcella gasped.</p><p> </p><p>“We were just talking!,” Sophie argued, “Simon doesn’t pressure me at all… Dad just doesn’t want to hear it.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella grimaced sympathetically but had to say, “You know, there are worse things in this world for a sixteen year old girl than a protective father.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Sophie agreed, “And there are better things than an overprotective one.”</p><p> </p><p>“Fair point,” Myrcella conceded.</p><p> </p><p>Sophie smiled sleepily, “Your usual?”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella nodded, “Thanks, and a bowl of water for Ghost here if it’s not too much trouble.”</p><p> </p><p>Sophie leaned over the counter, her tired voice descending into a coo, “Oh <em>Ghostie, </em>I didn’t even see you, handsome boyyyy.”</p><p> </p><p>Ghost’s mouth opened in a smile and he looked up at Myrcella as though to ask <em>Did you hear that? I’m a handsome boy. </em>Myrcella smiled down at him, stroking his forehead.</p><p> </p><p>“We need a place to camp out for a while,” Myrcella told her, “But if you start to fill up just shove me out the door alright?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah that sounds like me,” Sophie teased and Myrcella laughed as she went towards her favorite nook.</p><p> </p><p>She and Jon would come and sit here some mornings when they were both up long and before Robb, and she and Robb would sit here in the afternoons when Jon was working some Saturdays.</p><p> </p><p>It was not lost on her that there was hardly a place in the entire city to which she could not draw a connection to one or both of them.</p><p> </p><p>She took off her coat and draped it over the back of the chair and then sat down, one leg crossed over the other. Ghost lay down next to her, the upper half of his body covering the foot that was on the ground and Myrcella grabbed her cell phone and the book out of her bag.</p><p> </p><p>She glanced at the phone and was unsurprised to have no further messages. Jon wasn’t much for texting, their group chats plagued him endlessly to the point that she and Robb both sent extra messages just to frustrate him, so it served to reason that once he got her agreement he’d put the matter to rest. Myrcella looked at the book she’d brought and laughed.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course,” she murmured to herself.</p><p> </p><p>Eugenides’ <em>The Marriage Plot</em>, the story of a girl and the two boys she loved. Of course, Robb and Jon were absolutely nothing like Leonard and Mitchell, but Myrcella had always feared she was slightly like Madeleine.</p><p> </p><p>In spite of its flaws, she had always loved the book. The way it brought you close to the things you thought you wanted, or rather, the things you were supposed to want. Played with your desires. A rare book where in the end, the characters knew the right thing before the reader did.</p><p> </p><p>She held it in her lap, leaning her back against the chair. The purple was starting to lose its battle against the grey and the streetlights had started to dim.</p><p> </p><p>“Here Ghostie,” she heard Sophie say and Ghost lifted his head off of her and took a cursory drink of water before nuzzling his snout against Sophie’s cheek. The girl laughed and placed Myrcella’s coffee down on the table in front of her, stroking Ghost’s fur. Sophie stood up and started to walk away when she said, “You’re spending too much time with Jon.”</p><p> </p><p>“What?,” Myrcella asked in horror.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s so early,” Sophie reasoned.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” Myrcella relaxed, smiling, “Yeah, he’s corrupting me with that early to bed, early to rise mentality of his.”</p><p> </p><p>Sophie smiled and went back behind the counter so Myrcella lifted her cup of coffee and sipped from it. It was good, hot and rich and sweet. Just as she liked it to be.</p><p> </p><p>Ghost settled once again at her feet and Myrcella allowed her mind to drift. It was one of the things she loved most about waking early, the quietness and the lack of rush. The complete luxury of having nothing to do and nowhere to be.</p><p> </p><p>Now though, she wouldn’t mind the hustle and bustle of activity. Something, anything to distract her.</p><p> </p><p>She finished her cup of coffee and ordered another, protesting only slightly when Sophie brought a banana with it. She sipped the second cup more slowly and finally opened the book.</p><p> </p><p>She traveled with Madeleine from graduation and back through her senior year. Leonard’s vitality and Mitchell’s steadiness. She understood more of the references than she had the last time she’d made her way through the book, having now read a number of the tomes the characters debated.</p><p> </p><p>More people filtered into the coffee shop as the sun rose and settled clumsily in the sky. She glanced at Sophie every so often who always waved her off.</p><p> </p><p>She was with Madeleine and Leonard in a sad little seaside town when she felt someone standing above her. She looked up into a pair of piercing blue eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, well,” he said, “Funny seeing you here.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ramsay,” she said, petting Ghost’s head when she realized he’d sat up and was growling, low and sure at him. Ghost was normally silent, she had never heard him so much as bark. “Good morning.”</p><p> </p><p>Ramsay wagged his finger at her, smiling, “I’m beginning to think you just may live in this neighborhood.”</p><p> </p><p>“I wish, it is <em>so </em>charming,” Myrcella demurred, “Our offices are just around the corner. I’m heading there but had to caffeinate first.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, working on a Saturday,” Ramsay said, taking the other seat though she’d not invited him to do so. He was either unaware or unconcerned that Ghost was now baring his fangs, all but salivating at the idea of taking a chomp out of him. It was his singularity of thought, that absolute ignorance of anything except the thing he wanted, that was most terrifying about him. She had the peculiar sense that his hand could catch on fire and he wouldn’t even notice. “I do hope Barristan knows what he has in you.”</p><p> </p><p>“I feel very appreciated. But,” she said, looking at her grandmother’s wristwatch, “I really have lingered too long already.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” he waved that thought off, “It’s Saturday. The place will be deserted. No one will know if you sit here a moment longer with me.”</p><p> </p><p>There it was. The bait. Sinking deeper and deeper into dark waters.</p><p> </p><p>She grimaced, “Actually we’ve got the whole team in. Some projects that need us all to roll up our sleeves!”</p><p> </p><p>Ramsay all but snarled at her, and then placed that cold, vacant smile on his face, “Well anyway, they can’t be mad at you for being a bit late, not if you’ve been courting an important client.”</p><p> </p><p>She stroked Ghost’s head, unclear as to whether it was to calm him or her. In truth, she was half of a mind to let him at Ramsay. To take a nice, big chomp out whichever part of him he chose.</p><p> </p><p>But the message had done the trick. Whatever Ramsay was, he was still a client. And she was either too much of a professional or too much a Lannister to allow something as trivial as her nerves get in the way of her job.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella knew that she found herself in the position that countless other women have been in before. An imbalance of power and a deeply ingrained desire to be pleasant. A fear of what an outright rejection would awaken in him and the understanding that anything less would be misconstrued as encouragement.</p><p> </p><p>Not for the first time Myrcella thought about the fox and the rabbit. She wasn’t entirely sure that the rabbit didn’t have it just a little bit easy. After all, no one ever suggested that perhaps the rabbit had wanted to be caught simply because it had been. Everyone knew what the fox was.</p><p> </p><p>But what was a fox to a wolf?</p><p> </p><p>It was while Myrcella had been carefully thinking through her next steps, her eyes afraid to travel away from Ramsay lest he lunge for her, that Robb had walked in the door. She hadn’t seen him, but he, of course, had seen her.</p><p> </p><p>He proved her right. For no sooner had Robb gotten to Ramsay, then he grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket, yanking him out of his chair with more strength than even Myrcella even knew he had and shoved him against the wall.</p><p> </p><p>Grey Wind was with him, snarling and snapping as well.</p><p> </p><p>“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” Robb told Ramsay.</p><p> </p><p>“Darling,” Ramsay smiled, “It <em>has </em>been too long.”</p><p> </p><p>“Robb,” she stood up, “Please.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb turned to look at her, his cheeks flushed, his eyes nearly as black as Jon’s with rage.</p><p> </p><p>“From now on,” Robb said, his eyes still on her, one of his hands on Ramsay’s cheek, shoving his face against the wall, “You stop looking for her. You stop following her. You stop talking to her. If you see Myrcella Baratheon,” Robb mused, his voice turning into nothing more than a growl, “You walk the other way because I <em>promise </em>you I will fucking know it. And she is only going to be able to hold me off so long. You got it?”</p><p> </p><p>Ramsay looked at her, an amused grin on his face, “I thought the other one was your boyfriend.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb glanced at her and Myrcella ignored the question and Robb’s response to it.</p><p> </p><p>“I think you ought to listen to him,” she told Ramsay. “This is enough. We both know what you’re doing. I don’t want you to get hurt. And you will.”</p><p> </p><p>Ramsay shoved out of Robb’s grasp, straightening his jacket.</p><p> </p><p>“You just lost the Bolton Group you stupid <em>bitch</em>,” Ramsay sneered at her.</p><p> </p><p>He glanced at Grey Wind and Ghost, and it was only then that she saw the first real fear in his eyes. He looked at her once more and then walked out of the coffee shop.</p><p> </p><p>She and Robb stood there looking at one another. She watched as the black rescinded to let the blue back into his eyes. Fear, relief, anger, gratitude, resentment all flooded her, she could feel the blood pushing itself through her veins.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my god are you guys okay?,” Sophie asked as she came over. The poor girl had tears in her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Robb looked at her in horror and approached her gently, “Oh Soph, honey, I’m so sorry,” he said, mussing her hair. Robb looked around the coffee shop, so she did as well. There were only a few regulars about. “I’m so sorry, everyone.”</p><p> </p><p>“If you didn’t, I was going to,” one of the older guys in the back told him.</p><p> </p><p>Robb grinned and scratched his cheek, “Still uh, next round’s on me, everyone.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella felt the flush on her cheeks and her ears were ringing. Robb stepped forward, swiping her cheekbone with his thumb.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you alright?,” he asked her.</p><p> </p><p>“I…,” she started and his brow furrowed, “Um…”</p><p> </p><p>He was standing too close to her and in that moment she truly didn’t know if she wanted to shove him, or kiss him, or just fall into his arms. He was too much, he had proved her right and yet his blue eyes looked into hers and there was such tenderness and caring mingling with the anger and fear.</p><p> </p><p>“I have to go,” she told him.</p><p> </p><p>“You what?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I…,” she struggled to find her bearings, “I have to go, you just heard him. I have to figure out a way to tell Barristan and figure out where to place the kids the Boltons were going to take. I…”</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella, breathe,” Robb suggested, “Just take a minute. Sit down, we’ll figure it out.”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded slowly, allowing him to guide her towards the chair.</p><p> </p><p>“No!,” she said suddenly, as quietly as she was able. She couldn’t look in his eyes, knowing she’d find hurt there. “No, no I have to handle this on my own. Can you bring Ghost home with you?”</p><p> </p><p>Robb stepped away from her, “Yeah.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” she said, grabbing her things and throwing a twenty dollar bill down on the coffee table.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t even put on her coat and the freezing air assaulted her as she exited the coffee shop. She tugged it on and started walking towards her office.</p><p> </p><p>She was making plans, lists of companies that might jump in to take extras. She knew there would be no one place to take all of them, no untapped companies that could make it all go away, but there was a list of ones that might take on an extra two or three. She could distribute them evenly, matching up the kids with the place that next best suited them.</p><p> </p><p>She had learned from her grandfather never to go to a superior with a problem without also having the solution. Ramsay was a hothead but even still the news likely wouldn’t get to his HR department until Monday when the recruitment officer first checked their messages. The call would then come to her office, rather than Barristan’s. That gave her nearly two days to fix it.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella scanned her card to get into the building and then went up in the elevator. She hurried towards her office, and didn’t notice the light that was already on.</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella?,” a curious voice called out to her.</p><p> </p><p>Her blood ran cold, and she turned around as calmly as she was able, “Barristan.”</p><p> </p><p>He was dressed down in old corduroys and a thick knit sweater. He had his reading glasses on, smiling kindly at her. And there was almost no one in the world that she wanted to disappoint less than him.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s got you in on a Saturday?,” he asked from his doorway.</p><p> </p><p>She took a deep breath and walked over to him. Myrcella didn’t have to think about what her mother would do or her uncles, her grandfather. She knew that without thinking.</p><p> </p><p>She stepped closer to him and thought instead of what Robb would do. Of what Jon would do.</p><p> </p><p>“I lost us the Bolton Group,” she admitted, “I’m sorry. And I’m going to fix it.”</p><p> </p><p>He looked at her sternly for a moment and then gestured inside of his office.</p><p> </p><p>“That sounds like as good a way to spend a Saturday as any,” he told her, then nodded his head towards the office, “Come on in, kid. Two heads are better than one, even if one of them is mine.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>In spite of the reaction of the other people in the coffee shop, Robb felt strange being there after Myrcella had left. All he wanted to do was go after her, to apologize, to make sure she was alright, but he knew that he couldn’t.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella was dedicated to her work, and he knew that until she fixed this she wouldn’t be able to focus on anything else, discuss anything else. Not how she felt about Ramsay, or the way he dealt with him, not about last night and how odd it had been to see her and Jon together.</p><p> </p><p>There were so many things that he needed to talk to her about. It was all getting too intense. The feelings he had for her were multiplying by the day. When he’d seen Ramsay sitting there, Ghost in front of her snarling at him, her back as straight as an arrow, he had seen red. He knew that his fuse was too short when it came to her, but Ramsay wasn’t just some drunk guy at a party. He was a bad guy and his sights were set on Myrcella.</p><p> </p><p>He pulled out his phone and texted Jon: <em>We need to talk about Myrcella</em></p><p> </p><p>To his surprise, Jon started typing back immediately. A moment later he received: <em>What did she tell you?</em></p><p> </p><p>Robb’s stomach sank, the feeling of being in a dream and having to take a test you hadn’t studied for. One you didn’t even know about. He’d had it last night when he’d seen them sitting through the window too.</p><p> </p><p>It was dark but anyone could see it. They looked beautiful together, even Robb could admit that. Jon, large and imposing, Myrcella, delicate and demure. Their eyes on one another’s. The way Jon moved towards her so slowly, gently.</p><p> </p><p>Robb: <em>I meant Ramsay.</em></p><p> </p><p>The Read alert came on immediately but it took a whole minute for the typing bubbles to appear. That minute confirmed everything.</p><p> </p><p>Jon: <em>He approached her again?</em></p><p> </p><p>Robb: <em>Yeah.</em></p><p> </p><p>And then his annoyance got the better of him and he said:<em> I’m surprised she didn’t text you.</em></p><p> </p><p>Jon<em>: What happened? Is she okay?</em></p><p> </p><p>Robb immediately was flooded with guilt. Of course he should have started with that. Jon’s first concern, only concern, would be that Myrcella was okay. Everything else could be sorted out, as long as she was okay.</p><p> </p><p>Robb<em>: Yeah man, she’s fine. Pissed at me but fine.</em></p><p> </p><p>Jon<em>: What’d you do?</em></p><p> </p><p>Robb<em>: Threw him against the wall.</em></p><p> </p><p>Jon<em>: And she thinks you’re not capable of restraint…</em></p><p> </p><p>Robb<em>: She said that?</em></p><p> </p><p>Jon<em>: Let’s not do that now.</em></p><p> </p><p>Robb<em>: Yeah, okay. I’m going to call Sansa, see if I can get more info.</em></p><p> </p><p>Jon<em>: Good call. Where is M now?</em></p><p> </p><p>Robb<em>: The office. Pretty sure the Boltons aren’t clients anymore.</em></p><p> </p><p>Jon<em>: Yeah, you’re dead.</em></p><p> </p><p>Robb<em>: That makes things easier for you.</em></p><p> </p><p>Jon<em>: Fuck you.</em></p><p> </p><p>Robb<em>: Yeah. Sorry.</em></p><p> </p><p>Jon didn’t respond and Robb didn’t blame him. He wouldn’t respond to that either. It was unfair entirely.</p><p> </p><p>After all, if it had been him. If he was the one she texted. If he’d gone to get her, if she’d been shaken, wouldn’t he have done the same thing? Would he have given Jon a single thought if the opportunity presented itself to him? To be the one she turned to, the one who made her feel better, the one to sit close to her in a dark, quiet place.</p><p> </p><p>Sophie brought over his coffee in a to-go cup.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks Soph,” he smiled at her, “I’m sorry again.”</p><p> </p><p>Sophie shook her head, “Don’t be. That guy has been in here every day and he gives me the creeps. I told my Dad about him but since he hadn’t done anything…”</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s stomach churned and he nodded, “Has he seen him?”</p><p> </p><p>Sophie cocked her head to the side and then nodded, “Yeah I pointed him out the other day.”</p><p> </p><p>“Will you give your Dad my number? Ask him to text me if he sees him?,” Robb wondered.</p><p> </p><p>Sophie nodded and then turned around and grabbed something off the counter. A moment later she plopped down a piece of paper and a pen.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks,” he said, scrawling on it. He then thought better of it and scrawled Jon’s as well, “If it’s pre-8 AM it’s better to reach out to Jon.”</p><p> </p><p>Sophie laughed, “Yeah I coulda told him that one.”</p><p> </p><p>He grinned and then looked at her more closely, “Did he ever do anything, say anything to you?”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Sophie shook her head. “He asked me about Myrcella but at first I didn’t think anything of it.”</p><p> </p><p>“No?,” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>Sophie shrugged, “Well it happens sometimes, customers asking about other customers that they think are cute. It happens a lot with Myrcella.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course it does,” Robb sighed.</p><p> </p><p>“And you and Jon,” Sophie told him. Robb looked at her and she shrugged, “Is that really surprising?”</p><p> </p><p>“Anyone hot?,” Robb teased.</p><p> </p><p>“No one prettier than her,” Sophie told him knowingly.</p><p> </p><p>He narrowed his eyes at her, “You’re too smart for your own good, anyone ever tell you that?”</p><p> </p><p>Sophie nodded, “It’s been suggested.”</p><p> </p><p>“Alright, smartypants,” he sighed, getting up and picking up his coffee, “No more late night raves or whatever it is that got you pulling the early bird shift.” He pointed at the paper, “And I appreciate it, really.”</p><p> </p><p>Sophie picked up the paper, “I’ve never seen anything like that, you know.”</p><p> </p><p>“Warn your boyfriend that’s what’s coming to him if he screws up, alright?,” he teased.</p><p> </p><p>Sophie rolled her eyes, “Goodbye!”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, yeah,” he sighed, “Come on guys.”</p><p> </p><p>Ghost and Grey Wind hopped up and said their goodbyes to Sophie before they headed outside. He wanted to walk them over to Myrcella’s office but he didn’t dare, so instead he walked home, wanting to be there when her or Jon got back.</p><p> </p><p>He kicked off his boots and hung up his coat, letting Ghost and Grey Wind off their leashes and then he brought his coffee into the living room and sat on the couch. His Dad’s copy of <em>Winds of War </em>was on the coffee table, left there from the other day. He’d devoured <em>Marjorie Morningstar </em>within a week of getting it and when he’d mentioned it at that first dinner with his parents and Myrcella, his Dad had told him that he absolutely had to read <em>Winds of War</em> next. He was liking it but hadn’t breezed through it yet.</p><p> </p><p>Robb glanced at the clock. It was 11 AM, which meant it was 10 in Highgarden. That was late enough to call even on a Saturday so he grabbed his phone and dialed the familiar number.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Hi gorgeous</em>,” the phone was answered on the second ring.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Margie,” he grinned, “You steal Sansa’s phone again?”</p><p> </p><p>“She was sleeping with it!,” Margaery complained, “Grannie is killing her over the new line.”</p><p> </p><p>“Fashion is very serious, haven’t you heard?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t let her hear that tone or she’ll stab you with a sewing needle,” Margaery admonished. Margaery then called, “What? No, it’s in here… Yes, I have it… Sansa I promise you I have it…Because I’m talking to your brother on it that’s how I know.” Margaery’s tone got more and more exasperated and then she whispered, “<em>Incoming.</em>”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve been looking for that!,” Robb heard Sansa complain.</p><p> </p><p>“She’s all yours,” Margaery informed him, “If you get bored later send me some nudes, alright?”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry, the holiday card is already in the mail,” he promised.</p><p> </p><p>Margaery squealed in delight and then Sansa answered the phone, “Robbie?”</p><p> </p><p>“Your wife is a pervert,” he told her.</p><p> </p><p>“And a thief,” Sansa said in such a tone that made it clear Margaery was still in the room.</p><p> </p><p>“How’s the new line?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s coming along. Shoulder pads are coming back in,” she told him.</p><p> </p><p>“How do you know?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Because I’m <em>bringing </em>them back in,” Sansa told him haughtily.</p><p> </p><p>Robb chuckled, missing her and her and Marg both. He’d visited them just before Myrcella had moved in, but they wouldn’t be able to come North until after the next fashion week.</p><p> </p><p>“So,” he said, “I’m sorry to do this but I did call for another reason other than to flirt with Margie.”</p><p> </p><p>“Pity,” Sansa teased, “What’s up?”</p><p> </p><p>“Ramsay,” Robb said as gently as he was able, “I didn’t want to bring this up but he’s been sort of following Myrcella around.”</p><p> </p><p>Sansa was silent on the other line for a minute.</p><p> </p><p>“Robb I want you to listen to me very carefully,” Sansa told him. “Do <em>not </em>try to handle this on your own. Not you, not Jon. If you think you can intimidate him you’re wrong. You’ll only make it better sport.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well then I fucked up,” he admitted.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh Robbie,” Sansa cooed, “What did you do?”</p><p> </p><p>Robb rubbed his forehead, “I… I just threw him up against the wall. I threatened him a bit.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, you need to tell Dad,” Sansa told him.</p><p> </p><p>“What? No,” he argued. “There’s no need to involve him.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, there is,” Sansa argued back, “Things… things got a little worse than I told you and Jon. With me. Dad knows the head of the police. What’s his name? I don’t know. But he has a report on him. Myrcella’s going to need to make a statement and officially file a restraining order.”</p><p> </p><p>“What did he do to you?,” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing,” Sansa sighed, “He just… he broke in one night. I wasn’t home, thankfully but…”</p><p> </p><p>“Why didn’t you tell me?,” he wondered.</p><p> </p><p>“Dad made me promise not to,” Sansa said. “After you had threatened him… Dad was worried what you’d do. What Jon would do. What is Jon doing by the way?”</p><p> </p><p>“Who the fuck knows?,” Robb sighed.</p><p> </p><p>“Woah,” Sansa admonished. “Trouble in paradise?”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know,” he admitted. “Things are…getting complicated.”</p><p> </p><p>Sansa was silent for a moment and then asked, “What does Myrcella have to say about all this?”</p><p> </p><p>“All what?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Ramsay,” Sansa noted meaningfully, “You, Jon.”</p><p> </p><p>“She’s freaked,” Robb told her, “She won’t say it. But I saw it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” Sansa noted, “Then she’s no dummy.”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Robb agreed, “She certainly is not.”</p><p> </p><p>“And everything else?,” Sansa asked.</p><p> </p><p>He had told Sansa a little bit about what was going on. He hadn’t meant to really, and she had guessed most of it. Apparently, according to Marg, she’d heard it in his voice.</p><p> </p><p>Since then every picture posted on social media of him and Myrcella made Sansa and Marg send him heart-eye emojis and kissy faces.</p><p> </p><p>There was one picture of Myrcella sitting on his lap with Grey Wind sprawled on his back over hers. Myrcella is laughing down at Grey Wind and Robb was smiling at her. That one had caused Margaery to send him a note saying: <em>Cause of death: this picture.</em></p><p> </p><p>But for every picture with him, every moment, he knew that there was one with Jon.</p><p> </p><p>“I think she’s torn,” he said, then thought of that moment he’d seen through the window and Jon’s text, “Fuck I hope she’s still torn.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” Sansa said, “Like I said. She’s no dummy.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re my sister,” he reminded her. “You’re supposed to be on my side.”</p><p> </p><p>“You and Jon are always on the same side,” Sansa pointed out. “Remember that.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not sure that we can be,” he admitted, the thought he’d been afraid to have, the thing he never thought he’d say out loud. “In this… I don’t think that we can be.”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe not,” Sansa admitted. “But you and Jon have been friends for a long time, your whole lives really. Before you throw it away… make sure you’ve thought of everything.”</p><p> </p><p>“Everything?,” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Think outside the box,” Sansa said. He wanted to ask her what she meant but she said, “Ooh Olenna’s calling. I’ve got to take this. Remember to call Dad, it’s important. Love you bye!”</p><p> </p><p>She hung up then and Robb leaned back against the couch. His Dad would be at Rickon’s hockey game right now, and he’d be seeing him tomorrow at lunch anyway so he’d just talk to him then. It was honestly probably better to all speak to him, so that they could all get on the same page.</p><p> </p><p>There was nothing much to do now but wait so he grabbed the book off the coffee table and started to read. He had to go back a few pages to remember where he’d left off and he drifted slowly back into the story.</p><p> </p><p>He got more into it this time around, understanding what had drawn his Dad to it. He read about a hundred pages, limiting himself to checking his phone only every ten. When he got tired of reading he decided to work out a bit, so he did sit ups and push ups, grabbed his free weights and did lunges. He ate lunch and turned on a hockey game. But really all he was doing was killing time.</p><p> </p><p>He went into his room and grabbed his laptop, just so it wouldn’t seem like he was waiting around when Myrcella came in. When he opened it he realized that he had some emails he wanted to respond to so he let himself get lost in that.</p><p> </p><p>He heard footsteps coming up the stairs and he kept typing as the key turned in the lock. It was obvious that it was Myrcella coming in and he stayed on the couch as she took off her boots and coat and then she came into the room.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” he greeted her.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi,” she said and then went into her room.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t close the door so he got up and went to her doorway.</p><p> </p><p>“Can we talk?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>She was standing in her closet pulling out different clothes and laying them on her bed.</p><p> </p><p>“I um…,” she said, picking up one of the dresses and putting it back in the closet and grabbing another, “No. I have to get ready and go meet Barristan and a client for a drink.”</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella I know you’re pissed at me,” he sighed, “But we do need to talk.”</p><p> </p><p>She stopped fiddling with her clothing and looked up at him, her eyes wide, “What about?”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>What did she tell you?</em>
</p><p> </p><p>He felt his heart tearing in two inside his body. It was done, they were a unit. She wasn’t torn, she was just biding her time until they could tell him together.</p><p> </p><p>“Ramsay,” he said. “Not about today but…”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded, her face softening, “Let me just get changed. I just need five minutes.”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded and closed the door behind him. He went back and sat down on the sofa and then stood up again. He paced this way and that.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella’s door opened behind him and he turned around.</p><p> </p><p>“Wow,” he couldn’t help but say.</p><p> </p><p>She was wearing a black long, sleeved lace cocktail dress. It had a demure high neck and the black velvet heels she wore with it made her legs look like toothpicks.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m going to some cocktail function at the University Club,” she explained, “I’ve never been to the one here, will this do?”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded, fighting to swallow but his mouth had gone dry, “Yeah. That’ll do.”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, “I know you want to talk about Ramsay, but I wanted to apologize. About this morning. I… should have thanked you.”</p><p> </p><p>“No, uh,” he scratched his cheek, “Actually you shouldn’t have. I may have made things worse.”</p><p> </p><p>“How do you mean?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>As she did she walked towards the mirror and started fiddling with a pearl choker.</p><p> </p><p>“Apparently that’s the sort of thing that makes it all the more exciting to him,” he explained.</p><p> </p><p>She looked at him in the mirror, holding the necklace to her chest.</p><p> </p><p>“He really is like Joff,” she lamented.</p><p> </p><p>“Well the thing is,” Robb went on, needing to rip the bandaid off. “I didn’t know this but apparently things were worse than Sansa let on. It sounds like he broke into her house one night.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” Myrcella said, her head bowing forward, “Poor Sansa. Was she there?”</p><p> </p><p>“No, thankfully not,” he assured her. “But she and my Dad filed a report. She urged you to do the same. I think we need to talk to him about it tomorrow, when we are there.”</p><p> </p><p>She looked back up at herself in the mirror and then at him, “Can I sleep on it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Robb said, and warned, “But I’m going to make a pretty strong case.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know he’s a creep,” she told him, “I’m just not sure that what he’s done to me is worth a police report.”</p><p> </p><p>“What is my sanity worth?,” he wondered. She looked at him and he couldn’t help but seethe, “Because that is what is at stake. You can pretend that your safety isn’t, but I’m telling you, right now, that I am not going to be able to breathe when you’re out my sight until I know that every cop within a hundred miles has him on their radar.”</p><p> </p><p>She let out a sigh that sounded half like a cry, but it couldn’t be, because Myrcella didn’t do that. Even still, her head fell once again and her shoulders slumped.</p><p> </p><p>She looked so young, with her slender shoulders, she looked so sad, in her black party dress.</p><p> </p><p>He walked up to her slowly. When he got behind her he placed his hands on her shoulders. He felt her hand reach up and squeeze one of his, grasping it for dear life. He leaned his head forward, resting it against the back of hers.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll do it,” she told him. He lifted his head off of her and their eyes met in the mirror. “If that’s what it means to you then I’ll do it. Anything you want.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” he said.</p><p> </p><p>She nodded and he reached an arm down and took the pearl necklace from her. Her eyes watched as he brushed her hair to one side, and wrapped the pearls around her neck. He clasped it and looked at her in the mirror.</p><p> </p><p>“There,” he said.</p><p> </p><p>For the first time since he’d known her, even from when they were children, he watched a tear fall out of her eye.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon and I kissed,” she told him.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” he nodded, his heart sinking. “I figured.”</p><p> </p><p>“You did,” she all but whispered.</p><p> </p><p>He shrugged, forcing a casualness into his tone that he couldn’t begin to feel, “I saw you two last night. You looked pretty cozy.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry,” she said.</p><p> </p><p>It was less for her sake than his own that he asked, “Why?”</p><p> </p><p>“Why?,” she asked incredulously, turning around. Her eyes implored him, “You know why.” He shrugged. Her normal pink cheeks turned red in anger. He was blocking her in so she pushed his arm to the side, “Fine then I guess I was mistaken.”</p><p> </p><p>She stormed by him and went into her room and he followed her in. He shouldn’t have. It would be better, easier, if she could just be mad at him. It was worth her feeling like a fool for a night if it meant saving them all unknowable pain.</p><p> </p><p>He knew that, and he followed her anyway.</p><p> </p><p>Because that look, that anger, those eyes of hers told him that she was torn. That it wasn’t over.</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella what do you want me to say?,” he asked her. “He’s my best friend and you’re-“</p><p> </p><p>She had been angrily transferring things into a little black bag when she cut him off, “I’m what? What am I?” She pointed towards the living room, “Because that little speech of yours in there? That display this morning? Everything you’ve done since the <em>moment </em>you met me…”</p><p> </p><p>“What about what he’s done?,” he challenged her. “Are you forgetting that you kissed <em>him</em>?”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course I’m not forgetting it,” she argued. “It’s all I can think about -“</p><p> </p><p>“Spare me the details, please,” he grimaced.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh you are such an ass, anyone ever tell you that?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“No, but you’re a real brat, anyone ever tell <em>you </em>that?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I have to go,” she told him.</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella,” he sighed.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” she argued, her lip trembling. “No. Because I have to go be charming in a half hour and I’m not going to be able to do that if I spend one more second talking to you.”</p><p> </p><p>Not for the first time he saw the Lannister in her. That deep pragmatism, an almost austere practicality of spirit. Even if her heart was breaking, she was going to take a deep breath and walk into a room full of people and smile and laugh. Her eyes would be bright and so convincing would be her performance that no one would even wonder if it wasn’t tears in them.</p><p> </p><p>She zipped the bag and walked into her bathroom and came back in a moment later, patting her face with a towel.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you want to kiss him?,” he asked her.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” she admitted, setting down the towel.</p><p> </p><p>He clenched his jaw, forgoing the very last bit of his pride, “Do you ever want to kiss me?”</p><p> </p><p>Another perfect tear fell from her eye, “Yes.”</p><p> </p><p>And that was it. That was all he needed. He was a fool indeed because the moment she admitted it he forgot about his first question.</p><p> </p><p>He started to close the distance between them but she held up her hand.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t,” she pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>He stopped dead in his tracks. Remembering. A second later she let out a shaky breath and started walking towards him.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t,” he pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>She stopped walking. She went back to her bed and grabbed her bag.</p><p> </p><p>It was surprising to him what a surprise this was. Hadn’t it been him, from the start, who had told Jon they needed to talk about it? Hadn’t he seen this coming from a mile a way? And yet they hadn’t. No conversation, nothing.</p><p> </p><p>Perhaps because they knew that releasing it into the world would destroy them all. That burying their heads in the sand might just save them.</p><p> </p><p>But of course that couldn’t last forever. Not when she was kind and clever and so beautiful it made his heart ache. Not when she made them both feel like they would do anything, be anything for her. Not when she wanted them back, in equal and painful measure.</p><p> </p><p>“I have to go,” she said again.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” he agreed this time.</p><p> </p><p>She headed towards the door, moving past him. He was going to let her go. Everything told him to let her go.</p><p> </p><p>He reached behind him and grabbed hold of her wrist.</p><p> </p><p>She stopped walking and he tilted his head back to look at her. If she stayed facing forward he’d let her go and that would be that. In a different moment she may have done. She was stubborn enough, not to look back. She had that in her and yet her head tilted to the side slowly, and then turned all at once. Her eyes looked into his and he saw that pragmatism failing her now, as his had long abandoned him.</p><p> </p><p>Robb let go of her wrist and turned just in time to catch her in his arms. Her feet were clean off the ground and his arms were locked around her waist, her hands in his hair. He devoured her lips. There was no grace in it, none of the tenderness he had long planned to show her. And she only pulled him closer.</p><p> </p><p>He knelt onto the bed and they fell down onto it. She was kissing his lips and his cheeks and he was kissing every inch of her that he could.</p><p> </p><p>She whimpered and he slowed himself down, capturing her lips once again and kissing her deeply, sinking into her.</p><p> </p><p>After a moment her mouth closed, and she pressed her body against his, and he knew this was her way of saying enough. He released her lips and they were both panting.</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella,” he gasped raggedly.</p><p> </p><p>She lifted her fingers to her lips and they were shaking as she let out a deep breath, her eyes wandering over his face. When they met his, another tear pooled in her eye before escaping and resting on her cheekbone.</p><p> </p><p>At that moment he heard the front door open and Myrcella’s eyes closed slowly.</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella? Robb?,” Jon called.</p><p> </p><p>Robb got off the bed and Myrcella followed, smoothing her dress, wiping her face. Still it would take a fool not to know what they’d been doing and Jon was no fool.</p><p> </p><p>And Myrcella was no coward.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re in here,” she called.</p><p> </p><p>Jon came to the doorway a second later and looked from Myrcella, to the indent on the bed, to him. His jaw clenched and then he let out a single, pained laugh.</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella maybe you had better go,” Robb suggested.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t tell her what to do,” Jon argued.</p><p> </p><p>“No I,” Myrcella sighed, “I do have to go. I won’t be long.”</p><p> </p><p>As though realizing it for the first time, Jon looked at the dress she was wearing and then at him. He nodded slowly.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella glanced at him and Robb nodded as well so she grabbed her bag once again.</p><p> </p><p>Jon was standing in the doorway, all but blocking Myrcella’s exit but he shifted out of the way, not looking at her as she approached.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon I…,” she started, and then looked back at him. She shook her head looking down at the floor, “Look I know you both must be angry with me, and you should be. But please can I ask just one thing?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Robb sighed as Jon merely grunted in response.</p><p> </p><p>They both knew what she was going to ask, and neither wanted to agree to it.</p><p> </p><p>But Robb knew that deep down he wanted her to ask, and he hoped that Jon did too.</p><p> </p><p>“Just don’t kill each other,” Myrcella pleaded. “You two are best friends, you love each other. Remember that.”</p><p> </p><p>He and Jon looked at one another and neither said anything as they looked away, but Robb nodded his head and Jon must have done the same because Myrcella whispered out <em>thank you</em>.</p><p> </p><p>“If Ramsay shows up, call us,” Jon told her.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll be with Barristan, I’ll be okay,” she promised.</p><p> </p><p>“Call us,” Robb repeated.</p><p> </p><p>In this, at least, they were united.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” she said and gave them both a final look and then walked down the hall and out of the apartment.</p><p> </p><p>When they heard the door close he and Jon looked at each other again.</p><p> </p><p>“So,” Robb said, “I guess we’d better talk.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon glanced at the bed and he shook his head, “Not here. The pub.”</p><p> </p><p>“What?,” Robb asked incredulously.</p><p> </p><p>“She just asked us not to kill each other,” Jon said, “And if I have to stay in here one more second, looking at <em>that-</em>“</p><p> </p><p>Robb glanced at the bed and he knew it made it seem worse than it was.</p><p> </p><p>He nodded, “But you’re buying the first round.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why?,” Jon scoffed as they headed towards the door.</p><p> </p><p>“Because you kissed her first!,” Robb spat at him. “You kissed her knowing how I felt about her and worse than that, you put me in a position where I either had to just deal with it or be the dick that kissed the girl my best friend just kissed. So you owe me a fucking beer.”</p><p> </p><p>“Some might say you owe me a fucking beer,” Jon noted.</p><p> </p><p>They stood there looking angrily at each other. It was so silly to be fighting about this, it was so much easier to fight about this.</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” Jon sighed, scratching his cheek, “We could…”</p><p> </p><p>“Theon’s tab?,” Robb suggested, sudden genius striking him.</p><p> </p><p>Relief flooded Jon’s face and he nodded, “Theon’s tab.”</p><p> </p><p>The two of them smirked and then grimaced. And it was one of those times that Robb knew their thoughts were in exact alignment. That it had been so much easier, so much easier when Theon had lived there. Even when he left dirty dishes in the sink or had loud sex or ate their food. He was a far worse roommate and yet with him everything had been so simple. Jon and he were always united then.</p><p> </p><p>Robb glanced back at Myrcella’s room and then at Jon. And he knew too that even though they both knew that it had been simpler, that it also had been far worse. That whatever happened next, whatever became of them, neither could regret her moving in. That no matter what, they wouldn’t trade it.</p><p> </p><p>So they walked out of the apartment without another word and headed towards the pub side by side, for the first time in their lives having no promises or assurances that’s how they would return.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>oof.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 9</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They didn’t sit at the bar. Instead, they took a booth in the part of the pub that their friends rarely went. Even still, the waitress knew their orders and two glasses of whiskey appeared shortly after they took their seats.</p><p> </p><p>There had been plenty of times in their lives when he and Robb had sat across from one another and said nothing. There were almost no times in their lives when they had sat across from one another and been afraid to say anything.</p><p> </p><p>Jon was afraid now. Afraid of his temper and Robb’s. Afraid that one or both of them would say things that they’d never be able to take back. He was afraid to know what had happened between them in Myrcella’s bed and yet not knowing was slowly drilling a hole in his stomach. He was afraid to tell Robb the extent of his feelings. Afraid to hear the extent of Robb’s.</p><p> </p><p>He wanted to know everything and nothing and tell Robb the same.</p><p> </p><p>Because there was that too. The excitement that he hadn’t expected. The desire to share, to have someone else in the world know what had happened between him and Myrcella. He, who never felt the need to share much of anything, wanted more than anything in this world to tell his best friend that he had kissed the most extraordinary girl.</p><p> </p><p>But Robb had kissed her too. So that would like temper his excitement.</p><p> </p><p>Jon took a sip of his whiskey and Robb did the same. Both had their phones on the table facing upwards in case they received a text from Myrcella. Terrified that one of them would but not the other.</p><p> </p><p>“I think it would be good to tell each other what has happened so far,” Robb told him. “So that we know where we stand.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon nodded but said nothing.</p><p> </p><p>“You can start by what happened last night,” Robb suggested.</p><p> </p><p>While Jon bristled at his tone, it did suggest to him that nothing had happened between Myrcella and Robb before then, which eased his nerves a bit.</p><p> </p><p>“We were here, Myrcella texted asking me to come get her at Harlow + Sound on my own and to pretend to be her boyfriend. I ran over there and Ramsay was sitting with her. We pretended that we were late for a dinner reservation and left. I suggested going to the pub and she didn’t want to be around a lot of people -“</p><p> </p><p>“Including me,” Robb noted.</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t ask for specifics,” Jon admitted, “She asked to go somewhere, just the two of us. What would you have done?” Robb’s jaw clenched so Jon went on, “We sat down and ordered a bottle of wine. We talked. I was going to kiss her but then you showed up.”</p><p> </p><p>“But you did kiss her,” Robb noted.</p><p> </p><p>Jon looked at him, “She tell you that?”</p><p> </p><p>“Confessed it, more accurately,” Robb told him.</p><p> </p><p>Jon took a sip of whiskey and nodded, “Yeah. Later that night, she was in the kitchen making tea. And I kissed her. And then she kissed me.”</p><p> </p><p>He watched Robb place the moment, watched him realize that he’d walked in right afterwards.</p><p> </p><p>“I kept getting in your way, huh?,” Robb challenged.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah well apparently I didn’t get in yours,” Jon noted.</p><p> </p><p>“What did you think was going to happen?,” Robb asked him, “You knew it, you can’t say you didn’t. Did you think you two were just going to kiss and then I was going to what? Fade away? Move out? Come on you’re not that naive.”</p><p> </p><p>“To be honest I didn’t think about you at all,” Jon told him.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Robb sighed.</p><p> </p><p>“So?,” Jon prompted, “What happened with you two?”</p><p> </p><p>Robb rubbed his chin and leaned back, “Well after the coffee shop thing she went to the office. I thought at first she was just pissed at me about Ramsay and losing the account and wanting to fix it but uh… I think she was trying to avoid me a bit.She got home and I tried to talk to her. Not about us, but uh Sansa told me some stuff and I wanted to talk to her about it. She told me about last night and we fought and we kissed.”</p><p> </p><p>“Just kissed?,” Jon clarified.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Robb seethed.</p><p> </p><p>Jon hated himself for being relieved, but he was. How could he not be?</p><p> </p><p>“So, what now?,” Jon asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck if I know,” Robb sighed.</p><p> </p><p>“We make her choose,” Jon suggested.</p><p> </p><p>Robb shook his head, “She won’t.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Jon sighed.</p><p> </p><p>One night a week or so ago they had all been heading home in a taxi. She was sitting in between them and her and Gilly had drank too much champagne and she was quiet, really quiet. He thought she may have fallen asleep but it turned out she was just listening to them talk because when there was a lull in the conversation she told them, <em>You’re my favorite friends in the whole world. </em>They’d thanked her, both tipsy as well, telling her that they never wanted her to leave and she’d shaken her head, and grabbed hold of his hand and then Robb’s and pushed them together. <em>No. No. Not your friendship with me. Your friendship. My favorite ever. The two of you.</em></p><p> </p><p>It was ironic, actually, that the person who loved their friendship the most was the only one who could ever threaten it.</p><p> </p><p>“Well it’s not like we could choose,” he noted.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Robb agreed, but barely. He then shook himself out of it, “No she’d kill us for even considering it. But what then? Neither of us end up with her? We sacrifice the happiness of two people just to make it easier for the one?”</p><p> </p><p>“You only say that,” Jon all but growled, “Because you think you’d be one of the two.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb looked at him, his eyes wide, and shook his head, “She called you last night, remember? And sure, she’s attracted to me but… I have no idea where I stand with her.”</p><p> </p><p>“For all we know,” Jon noted, “She called me because she knew what would happen if she called you.”</p><p> </p><p>“With Ramsay?,” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Jon shook his head.</p><p> </p><p>Robb nodded, “Right. She thinks I’m not capable of restraint.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon smirked and took a sip, “If she only knew.”</p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean?,” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>Jon shrugged, “You’ve wanted to kiss her since the moment she walked in the door. I’ve been pretty impressed that you hadn’t.”</p><p> </p><p>“It was pretty touch and go at times,” Robb admitted and Jon chuckled. Robb looked at him and for the first time Jon saw the vulnerability that he himself was feeling. “I <em>did </em>think about you. About your feelings, hers. If you weren’t in the picture I’d have gone for it the second I noticed her interest in me.”</p><p> </p><p>“You did, though,” Jon pointed out, “Kind of. We both did. Between the two of us, we can admit it, can’t we? We’ve both been doing everything we can so that the choice would become obvious. We never discussed it so we could deny knowing how the other one felt. But we were both going for it.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb looked at him for a long moment and Jon wondered briefly if he was going to deny it.</p><p> </p><p>“You know, a couple weeks ago, at Theon and Ros’ housewarming, I think we were both in her face a bit that night. I said something and she looked at me. You know that way she looks at you sometimes?,” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Like she sees into the very core of your existence?,” Jon prompted.</p><p> </p><p>“Yup,” Robb agreed, “And she looked at me and she said, <em>Just remember, all the time you two are competing with one another… you’re playing with me…. </em>I felt like such an ass.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon also felt like such an ass hearing that.</p><p> </p><p>Even still, “But I meant it. All of it. Didn’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>“And then some,” Robb agreed.</p><p> </p><p>“Look I’m not going to give you some speech about how I feel,” Jon told him, “And I don’t need to hear one from you either.”</p><p> </p><p>“So what’s the answer then?,” Robb asked, “I mean… she won’t… but if she <em>did </em>choose… then what? Would… what would that mean?”</p><p> </p><p>“For us?,” Jon asked.</p><p> </p><p>“If she wants to be with you,” Robb told him, “I’m not going to get in your way.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t-“</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not just saying it,” Robb told him, “It’s… I’d figure it out, I guess, somehow. It might take some time and I’d have to move out, obviously, but. I don’t know, man.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why?,” Jon asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Because I love you,” Robb shrugged. Jon’s eyebrows raised. He’d never really heard that in anything other than a drunken rant about their friendship. “And I love her. So if me bowing out is what it takes for you two to be happy - if that’s what she wants, mind you, I’m not going to throw in the towel before I know how she feels - then I’d do it.”</p><p> </p><p>“You love her?,” Jon asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I fucking better,” Robb let out a pained, wounded laugh. “Because if love is <em>more </em>than this… it’s going to actually kill me.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll cheers to that,” Jon said, holding up his glass.</p><p> </p><p>Robb clinked his against it and they both took sips.</p><p> </p><p>“She’ll never choose,” Jon repeated and Robb glanced at him, “But if she does, don’t say no on my account.”</p><p> </p><p>For some reason Jon wanted to hug him then. It was a ridiculous sensation, one he hadn’t felt since his Mom had died, but he wanted to hug him. He understood it, sort of, what Myrcella had said. Their friendship, his and Robb’s, it was special. It wasn’t just some remnant of childhood, some thing you held onto like a well-worn sweatshirt because you couldn’t bear to throw it away. It was something he didn’t think about all too often, because it just <em>was</em>. It was one of the great absolutes in his life.</p><p> </p><p>He looked at Robb and he knew, he felt as sure as anything, that Robb felt the same.</p><p> </p><p>And to prove it Robb said, as though to assure them both, “She’ll never choose.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon nodded, “Let’s get another.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb signaled to the waitress as Jon knocked back his drink. They’d have to pace themselves, lest they both turn into slobbering messes when Myrcella came back in that prissy black dress.</p><p> </p><p>There was something thrilling about it, Jon had to admit. The look of her. Wearing that black dress, as prim and proper as anything the’d ever seen, her lips swollen from kissing.</p><p> </p><p>Even as his heart ached in anger he had known deep down that he’d never wanted her more.</p><p> </p><p>The waitress brought two more glasses and set them down. Robb’s phone lit up and he snatched it off the table.</p><p> </p><p>He glanced up a minute later and said, “It’s just Mom. Wants to know what time we’re going to be there tomorrow.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon’s phone lit up on the table and the way Robb’s eyes fell to his own told him that he’d also gotten a message.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella: <em>On my way home.</em></p><p> </p><p>“Let’s go find out,” Jon suggested.</p><p> </p><p>They both left their full drinks on the table and got up. They pulled on their coats silently and headed back out into the dark. It was just a couple of blocks to the apartment and they made it there quickly and bounded up the stairs.</p><p> </p><p>They had beaten her home and so all they could do was sit in the living room and wait for her.</p><p> </p><p>Ghost and Grey Wind ran to the front door and a moment later they heard the downstairs door close shut and then light footsteps on the stairs. Jon glanced at Robb and Robb looked over at him.</p><p> </p><p>The front door opened and they heard her greeting Ghost and Grey Wind.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello?,” she called.</p><p> </p><p>“In here,” they both answered.</p><p> </p><p>They heard her high heels clicking on the floor as she walked down the hallway and then she came into view.</p><p> </p><p>“How’d it go?,” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” Myrcella answered. “The Bolton interns will all have places in their desired fields.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon glanced at Robb and saw the relief that was there on his face. Other than the Starks the Boltons took the most interns in the North. In the time it took him and Robb to get through one glass of whiskey, Myrcella had potentially protected the futures of thirty underprivileged children.</p><p> </p><p>“Well done you,” Jon said.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella gave him a closed lip smile, “Thanks. I just need to change and then we can talk.”</p><p> </p><p>He and Robb didn’t say anything so she went into her room and closed the door. She came out a moment later wearing a chunky turtleneck sweater and a pair of leggings, a pair of slippers on her feet.</p><p> </p><p>“Can you guys sit down?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>He and Robb glanced at each other and then Jon sat down in his armchair and Robb went and sat on the couch. Myrcella stayed standing in front of the coffee table, her hands clasped in front of her like she was about to recite a poem in class.</p><p> </p><p>“I owe you both an apology,” she said though. “By the time that I realized I had developed feelings for either of you I had already developed feelings for both of you. I should have stopped this a while ago, and I didn’t,” she breathed out, “Because the truth is… I feel more for both of you than I’ve ever felt about anybody else. And I kept hoping that it would change, that I’d either get over it entirely or that one of the feelings would start to eclipse the other.”</p><p> </p><p>“And they haven’t,” Robb prompted.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Myrcella shook her head, “They haven’t. Because as it turns out,” she laughed and it turned into a sob so quickly that both he and Robb got out of their seats as though they could stop it from happening, “You’re both absolutely <em>perfect</em>. Oh gosh I’m so sorry. It’s so unfair to cry, you know using my feminine wiles and whatever.”</p><p> </p><p>He had never felt so useless and oafish in his whole entire life and honestly that was saying something.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s okay,” Robb told her gently, “You can cry… We can take it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Speak for yourself, dude,” Jon pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella started laughing which only made her cry harder.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s just really <em>sad,</em>” she told them, wiping her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Jon nodded, “We sort of came to that conclusion too.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve ruined everything,” she told them.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Robb nodded, “We sort of came to that conclusion too.”</p><p> </p><p>Now she was just laughing, a deep belly laugh that made Jon join in. It was kind of funny, in a terrible sort of way. But equally for some reason this was making Jon feel better. He’d been so angry when he’d gotten home that he had almost forgotten how much he loved them both. What deeply good people they were. How much they loved him.</p><p> </p><p>“This is ridiculous,” he sighed. “There has to be a way to fix it.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella stopped laughing and nodded, “There is. I’m going to move out.”</p><p> </p><p>“No!,” he and Robb both argued immediately.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella threw her hands up in exasperation, “So what? We’re just going to all wake up tomorrow and forget that I’ve made out with 100% of the people in this room?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s better than what you’re suggesting,” Robb pointed out, “Way better. If you move out now… we’ll never get past this.”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t see how I can stay,” Myrcella said gently. He saw the blush rise on her cheeks, “I don’t think I can be here and not want you.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon felt that statement in his cock. There was nothing more arousing than knowing that she wanted him. That there was a very real chance she couldn’t resist him.</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck, that really makes me want to kiss you,” Robb groaned.</p><p> </p><p>“Right?,” Jon asked, feeling better that he wasn’t crazy.</p><p> </p><p>Robb turned to him and nodded. It was so good to commiserate about this, rather than what they usually did when Myrcella looked particularly stunning and just refused to look at one another for at least thirty minutes.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait a second,” Myrcella ordered and then pointed between them, “Did you guys manage to <em>bond </em>over this?”</p><p> </p><p>“You told us not to kill each other,” Jon reminded her.</p><p> </p><p>Robb pointed at him and then at her and nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t even know what to say to that?,” Myrcella confessed, “Like I’m annoyed by it. To be honest. But it’s also really sweet?”</p><p> </p><p>“Look, Myrcella,” Robb stepped forward. Myrcella’s casual stance changed immediately and it was clear that she was prepared to flee if Robb got too close. Jealousy churned in Jon’s stomach, not being able to help but wonder if he affected her that much. “We talked about it. And… if there’s a chance that you could be happy with -“</p><p> </p><p>“No!,” Myrcella held her hand up. “No, I won’t choose between you. I’m not coming between you two any more than I already have.”</p><p> </p><p>They had known that would be her answer and even still, Jon was disappointed. Looking at Robb he knew that he was too.</p><p> </p><p>“So what then?,” Jon asked. “You move out and we don’t see you anymore? That’s what you want?”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course it isn’t,” Myrcella lamented, “But what else is there? Really? You know say we decide to put it behind us. Will we, really? I’d just watch you guys date other women?”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Jon agreed even though it went against his interests. “I couldn’t date anyone else, knowing you’re in the room next to me.”</p><p> </p><p>“And you?,” Myrcella asked Robb.</p><p> </p><p>“If I could, we wouldn’t be in this situation,” he answered hollowly.</p><p> </p><p>“So then I stay here and what?,” she asked, “We all just walk around sulking until it gets to be too much for one or all of us and we end up moving out anyway? How is that better?”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not,” Jon agreed. He shook his head, “I’ve been trying to think of a solution all day.”</p><p> </p><p>“We need something outside the box,” Robb said. Both Jon and Myrcella turned to look at him and he shook his head, “Something Sansa said…”</p><p> </p><p>“You talked to Sansa about this?,” Myrcella asked. “Does she think I’m a slut?”</p><p> </p><p>“No!,” Robb admonished her, “She thinks - how could you be a slut you’ve only - she thinks that it makes perfect sense that you can’t choose between us.” Robb then turned to him, “And she thinks we should consider everything before we risk allowing this to ruin our friendship.”</p><p> </p><p>“What aren’t we thinking of?,” Myrcella asked. “I either choose one of you or I choose neither of you. There’s no other option.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” Jon grimaced, unable to even think it but here he was saying it, “There’s exactly one other option.”</p><p> </p><p>“What?,” Robb asked, “One of us dies?”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t even joke about that,” Myrcella admonished.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not suggesting we do this,” Jon told them and they both waited expectantly, “I need you to both say that you understand I’m not suggesting we do this.”</p><p> </p><p>“I understand,” they both parroted with rolls of their eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“This is just going <em>outside </em>the box,” Jon still went on. He could tell Myrcella was getting impatient so he said, “But if you won’t choose one of us… and we don’t want to lose you… then the other option is you being with both of us.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella and Robb both stared at him blankly and then at each other. Myrcella doubled over in laughter and Robb sat back down on the couch chuckling.</p><p> </p><p>“You would…,” Myrcella tried to get out, “I would…”</p><p> </p><p>“And we…,” Robb laughed… “We….”</p><p> </p><p>“Once again I want to remind you that I’m not suggesting we do it,” Jon felt compelled to say.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my gosh,” Myrcella breathed, “Thank you. I needed that.”</p><p> </p><p>She was fanning herself for goodness sake. She went and plopped on the loveseat so Jon took a seat in his chair. They all sat there for a moment in silence.</p><p> </p><p>“How would that even work?,” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Robb,” Myrcella chided.</p><p> </p><p>“Look I’m not… I’m just wondering… how would that work?,” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>“It wouldn’t,” Myrcella pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>“It couldn’t,” Jon agreed.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Robb agreed, “You’re right.” Myrcella tucked her legs up underneath her and Robb looked over at her and then at him. “It’s just that… the thing is…”</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” Jon agreed. Myrcella glanced at him and he shrugged, “There are so few things in this world I wouldn’t consider to protect this.”</p><p> </p><p>“Even still,” Myrcella said, “Some things are too crazy even to consider.”</p><p> </p><p>“Crazier than you walking out of our lives for good?,” Robb asked her.</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t have to say the rest. They all heard it. That even if she left it wouldn’t resolve anything. She’d always be there now, in between them. And the unhappiness they’d both feel at not having her in their lives would turn into a resentment towards each other.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella shifted so that she was lying on the loveseat on her side. Robb stretched out on his back on the couch, looking up at the ceiling. Jon lifted his legs and rested his feet on the coffee table, sinking back into the seat.</p><p> </p><p>Neither of them said a word, but nobody got up and went to their rooms either. So they stayed there all night, in a stubborn sort of vigil, each of them trying to think of another solution, each of them worrying that they wouldn’t.</p><p> </p><p>He looked at them at one point and thought about bowing out. He really did care enough about them both to do it. But just as Myrcella’s absence would drive a wedge between him and Robb, so would his between the two of them, as Robb’s would if he was the one to surrender. The missing party would be in every argument, as obvious as if they were standing in the same room.</p><p> </p><p>Jon’s mind drifted to all sorts of things as he sat there, but around three he thought of Myrcella’s bookshelf. The way she lent out books from it. Pieces of her, he’d long ago realized.</p><p> </p><p>There was one that she hadn’t suggested to either of them, and Jon had never picked it up off the shelf because he had read it already. <em>No Exit, </em>it was called. A story of three people locked in a room together for all eternity. Hell, as it were.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 10</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She couldn’t be sure what time she’d drifted off but she knew she had not been sleeping very long when she woke. It was dark in the living room but she could tell that both Jon and Robb were still sleeping.</p><p> </p><p>She got up and went into her room, into her bathroom and brushed her teeth and splashed some cold water on her face. She swiped some deodorant on and brushed out her hair.</p><p> </p><p>She was exhausted but wired, a nauseating combination. Myrcella padded into the kitchen and set about making coffee. They had all been up so late, Robb and Jon were sure to need it as soon as they got up.</p><p> </p><p>The clock told her that it was 5 AM, which meant Jon would be up in a matter of minutes. Robb on the other hand could be asleep for another five hours under the right circumstances.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella sat down at the window seat and looked outside. The street lights were still on and it had snowed quite a bit. Ghost and Grey Wind would be delighted to go to Winterfell, there were acres and acres on which for them to romp through the snow.</p><p> </p><p>She poured herself a cup of coffee, pulling out the brown sugar to put a pinch in and then added some milk. While she was in the fridge she pulled out the carton of eggs and rather than put the brown sugar back she pulled out the white as well and the flour, the vanilla, the baking soda. She got butter out and not wanting to wake them with the use of the microwave she put a small saucepan on the stove and placed the butter in it, turning the stove on a low heat.</p><p> </p><p>It was nice to focus on something menial so Myrcella lost herself in measuring this bit and that. She still wasn’t a great cook, never adding the right amount of salt or spice, struggling with sauteeing and always adding up with a burnt mess, but baking she’d always known. Her grandmother on her father’s side had taught her the summer she’d lived with her.</p><p> </p><p>She’d been a tough woman, and her disapproval of Myrcella’s parents had seeped into every conversation, but Myrcella’s willingness to learn and quiet pragmatism had endeared her grandmother to her. So the older woman had set about to teach her how to bake and knit but also how to change a tire, even though Myrcella had been six years shy of a driver’s license, and balance a check book. According to her grandmother, her mother was a spoiled, vapid woman who overestimated her own intelligence, and there was nothing her grandmother hated more than spoiled, vapid women. Which was why even though Myrcella didn’t know how to cook it she knew how to debone a fish and also how to catch it, and why she’d insisted on doing her own taxes every year since she began filing them.</p><p> </p><p>She wondered what Grandma Cassie would have to say about the situation she found herself in now. Myrcella was acting exactly like the spoiled, vapid women her grandmother had fought so hard - even until the very end of her life - to ensure she’d never become. Spoiled, having two perfect men and complaining about how difficult it was, vapid, craving their affection and desire in spite of her better self.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>The trouble is, my girl, your mother thinks she’s controlled by her mind, but really it is her heart that’s running the show. It’s one thing to be controlled by your heart, but quite another when you think you’ve conquered it.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>Grandma Cassie had been a broad woman but her fingers had been slender and elegant. She played the piano beautifully, and she’d taught Myrcella that too. Myrcella turned over her palm and traced her love line. It was the earliness of the morning that made her wonder whether it had always split into two, or if somehow it had been altered when she had moved in here.</p><p> </p><p>She glanced at the clock and realized it was late enough to call, so she left the baking supplies on the counter and sat back at the window and dialed the familiar number.</p><p> </p><p>“Uh oh,” he said when he answered the phone.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi Father,” she smiled sadly.</p><p> </p><p>“This is early, even for you,” he pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>“I was thinking about Grandma Cassie,” she told him. “All the things she wanted me to be.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yes, my mother and her high expectations,” he agreed. “You know I think you’re the only person who ever exceeded them.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t flatter me,” she chided.</p><p> </p><p>Her Father scoffed, “As if I would. She told me shortly before she died. Yelled at me is more like it…”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella smiled in spite of herself, because that sounded like Grandma Cassie.</p><p> </p><p>“What did she say?,” she asked, sipping her coffee.</p><p> </p><p>Her Father was quiet for a moment and then said, “She told me there was something perfect in my life and I was missing it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Joffrey,” Myrcella quipped and her Father chuckled. “I didn’t know that.”</p><p> </p><p>“No, you wouldn’t,” her Father agreed. “I’m sure she withheld praise for you until her very last breath, but she was so proud. And she was right.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not perfect,” she argued, “Far from it. I’m a mess.”</p><p> </p><p>“Trust me, kid,” her Father said. “I’ve seen a mess. You’re not a mess.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well I’ve made a mess of things,” she amended.</p><p> </p><p>“Beyond fixing?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Not with any traditional means,” she noted.</p><p> </p><p>“Well who cares about traditional means?,” her Father asked. “Look Myrcella… you’re… you’ve always been special, but you worry me more than either of your brothers because you’re so damn focused on what you ought to do. It’s my fault, I wasn’t around and you spent too much time being raised by Tywin Lannister of all people. And I think a part of it is me and your mother. For so long we gave in to whatever impulse we had that I think you went in the opposite direction. That you have some sort of block now… from doing the things you want because of us, how we gorged on it. But if you’ll allow me some fatherly advice, know this: not all desire ends in despair.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella’s eyes flicked to the doorway and to her immense surprise she saw Robb standing there. His eyes were on her, sleepy, but so blue and vital.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re sure?,” she asked him.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah kid, I’m sure,” he promised.</p><p> </p><p>She said goodbye and hung up the phone as Robb went to the cabinet and grabbed himself a mug.</p><p> </p><p>“Did I wake you?,” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” he said, “Just couldn’t…”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” she agreed.</p><p> </p><p>Robb leaned against the fridge and gestured to the counter, “What’s all this?”</p><p> </p><p>“Cookies for lunch,” she said, “I told your Mom I’d bring them.”</p><p> </p><p>“You still want to go?,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>She cracked an egg, a single flick of her wrist.</p><p> </p><p>“I promised I would,” she noted and then glanced at him, “Unless you’d prefer I didn’t.”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Robb shook his head, “I don’t want that.”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded and cracked another egg and then deposited the shells in the trash before starting to mix the dough.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you need help?,” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” she told him, “But stay here, please.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb went and sat at the kitchen table and sipped his coffee. She finished making the dough and then wrapped plastic wrap over the bowl and put it in the fridge. She put everything away and washed her hands, checking the clock to see what time she needed to preheat the oven.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella lifted her coffee and took a sip, and when she no longer had an excuse not to she looked at Robb.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry,” she told him. “I was dreadful to you yesterday.”</p><p> </p><p>“I was no prince either,” he pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>She set her coffee down and walked over towards him. He was tall, even seated, so she hardly had to bend to wrap her arms around his neck. She leaned her cheek against his shoulder and squeezed him tightly.</p><p> </p><p>One of his arms wrapped around her waist and then the other around her back, gripping the back of her neck gently. She hugged him even closer and he did the same and he pulled her into his lap.</p><p> </p><p>“You are a prince,” she told him. “One of the best men I’ve ever met.”</p><p> </p><p>“Top two?,” he asked into her neck.</p><p> </p><p>She smiled sadly, “Yeah, top two for sure.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll take it,” he said, squeezing her harder.</p><p> </p><p>“Why?,” she couldn’t help but ask.</p><p> </p><p>It didn’t make any sense, that either of them would even consider such a thing. It made her wonder if that meant they didn’t want her as much as she wanted them, because she knew that if she were in this position, if one of them was torn between her and another, there is no way she’d even consider it.</p><p> </p><p>“Because the other one is Jon,” Robb told her simply.</p><p> </p><p>In spite of herself her insides turned to goo upon hearing his name. <em>Jon</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Robb released her slightly and she pulled back to look at him. He was so close to her, she could count the freckles his nose and his fine eyelashes.</p><p> </p><p>There was an intensity in his eyes and she understood why when he said, “If it were any other two people in the whole world…”</p><p> </p><p>“If it were any other two people in the whole world,” she agreed.</p><p> </p><p>He let out a shaky breath, “But one of them is you.”</p><p> </p><p>She saw it then, the heat in his gaze. The pure, unmitigated, incomprehensible want. And she realized then that she had been wrong to doubt him, them.</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t that they wanted her less, it was that they had never wanted anyone more.</p><p> </p><p>Her mouth went dry as she looked at him, and his hands moved up her back, one massaging circles on her spine and the other gripping her neck. He was guiding her towards him but her head was falling on its own accord, her forehead against his. She breathed him in, every part of her awake.</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella,” he whispered.</p><p> </p><p>She shifted, knowing he wouldn’t kiss her and needing to feel his lips against hers.</p><p> </p><p>“Morning,” Jon said from the doorway and she pulled away from Robb quickly.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon!,” she greeted him, “Morning.”</p><p> </p><p>She got out of Robb’s lap and went to the cabinet and grabbed out one of Jon’s mugs, trying to stop her hand from shaking as she filled it with coffee.</p><p> </p><p>She turned around and handed it to him.</p><p> </p><p>“Can you believe Robb woke up before you?,” she asked him as lightly as possible. “That’s got to be a first.”</p><p> </p><p>“Just about,” Jon agreed hollowly.</p><p> </p><p>She could hear it in his voice, that sense of rejection. He thought she’d changed her mind, chosen between them. As though that was something she was capable of. As though it was a conscious choice not to, as though it wouldn’t feel like severing one of her limbs.</p><p> </p><p>She walked back over to him and cupped his cheek in her hand, pressing a kiss to the other. He leaned his temple against hers briefly and wrapped an arm around her waist. She pressed another kiss to his cheek.</p><p> </p><p>“You must have slept horribly,” she lamented as she pulled back to look at him.</p><p> </p><p>He kept his arm wrapped around her and nodded, and asked, “Did I miss anything?”</p><p> </p><p>She rubbed his arm, “I spoke to my Father and made cookie dough.”</p><p> </p><p>“I drank three sips of coffee,” Robb added.</p><p> </p><p>“And we decided you’re a prince among men,” she noted. And then promised, “And nothing else.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon squeezed her side and then released her and sat down at the table. She turned on the oven to preheat and pulled out a baking sheet and placed it on the table, she then grabbed out the bowl of cookie dough and unwrapped it.</p><p> </p><p>She washed her hands and then sat down and pulled out a chunk, rolling it into a ball and placing it on the cookie sheet and then repeating those motions.</p><p> </p><p>“What kind are these?,” Jon asked, peering in the bowl.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know, really,” she admitted, “I learned to make them when I was younger but never got a clear answer. They’re kind of like a brown sugar cookie though.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s eyebrows raised and then he also started looking at the bowl. She rolled her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“You can clean the bowl,” she told them and laughed as Jon pumped his fist in celebration. “Your Dad mentioned them to me last week. He loved them when Grandma Cassie made them. I hope they’ll taste as good as he remembers.”</p><p> </p><p>“He’s going to cry,” Robb informed her.</p><p> </p><p>She glanced at Jon who was shaking his head, “It’s so awkward when he cries. It makes me want to cry.”</p><p> </p><p>“You can cry,” she said using her Robb voice, “We can take it.”</p><p> </p><p>“What was I <em>supposed </em>to say?,” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>Jon’s eyes met hers and he crinkled them at her. She rolled another ball of cookie dough and then another, settling them into neat little rows. She put one pan in the oven and then grabbed another as Jon and Robb drank their coffee in as comfortable a silence as they were likely to have.</p><p> </p><p>When she was finished she grabbed two spoons and placed them down, and Jon ignored the spoons and shoved the bowl in between him and Robb and they set upon it like beasts.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my-,” she said, turning away and put the second pan in the oven.</p><p> </p><p>She sat back down on the window seat and grabbed her coffee, tucking her legs up underneath her. The window pane burned to the touch, and little crystals were forming in the corners. She brought her mug to her lips and sipped.</p><p> </p><p>“We should go out early,” Robb said, “To Winterfell. Take the dogs for a woods walk…”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella nodded without turning to look at him, “I was thinking the same.”</p><p> </p><p>“And on the way home, we’re going to stop at the police station,” Jon told her.</p><p> </p><p>She turned then and Robb explained, “I told him what Sansa said after you fell asleep.”</p><p> </p><p>She looked at Jon who wore a face as stubborn as Robb’s and she turned back to the window. The purple was fading to grey and the snow shimmered. She had promised Robb already so there was no point arguing. She had meant it. If filing a police report would give Robb comfort then she would do it.</p><p> </p><p>Even still she had to ask, “Do you suppose Ramsay is the sort of man deterred by a piece of paper?”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Jon answered.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella set her coffee down on the table and pulled her knees up, hugging them to her. She laid her cheek down on them, watching the wind brush snow off of rooftops.</p><p> </p><p>“You want him to violate it,” she realized.</p><p> </p><p>“I want there to be a penalty for him coming near you,” Robb answered.</p><p> </p><p>“I wasn’t talking to you,” she told him. She turned and laid the other cheek on her knees and looked at Jon. “You want there to be a record.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon looked at her, “I want him gone.”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded, “That’s one word for it.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella stood up and took the bowl off the table, bringing it to the sink and turning on the faucet. She rinsed it with warm water and then scrubbed it with a soapy sponge, rinsing it once again and laying it out to dry.</p><p> </p><p>She opened the oven and pulled out the first batch of cookies, placing them on a cooling tray one by one with a well worn spatula. She leaned her hip against the cabinet and waited for the other tray to be ready.</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella,” Jon said.</p><p> </p><p>She ignored him and pulled out the cookies, depositing them with the others.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m fine,” she told him when she was done. “We’ll go on our way home. But before we do,” she went over to the table and grabbed her phone, “There are some texts you both should see. Look through them, or don’t. I’ll disclose them at the station but I don’t want to talk about it with either of you.”</p><p> </p><p>They were both watching as she navigated to the texts. She’d considered deleting them, but there was a part of herself that wanted the record too. Just in case.</p><p> </p><p>She set the phone down in between them.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m going to go shower,” she said and left without another word.</p><p> </p><p>She knew they were going to be angry with her for not showing the texts to them the moment she had received them. That was fine, she deserved their anger. At the time she had convinced herself that it wasn’t any of their business but of course that wasn’t true. Anything that affected her affected them.</p><p> </p><p>She went into her room and undressed, tossing her clothing into the hamper and wrapping her pale blue bathrobe tightly around her. She went into the bathroom and turned on the shower, scalding once again.</p><p> </p><p>Today she took her time, shampooing and conditioning her hair twice each. She used her salt scrub on her elbows and knees and the bottoms of her feet until they were made soft and then shaved her legs and washed her body with her chamomile soap.</p><p> </p><p>And then she just stood under the hot water, thinking of the day before when she couldn’t help but touch herself to the thought of both Jon and Robb. Today though, with that in her reach, all she felt was trepidation at the thought.</p><p> </p><p>It seemed unbelievable, that they were even entertaining it. Her fear was that they weren’t. That they viewed it as a means to an end, the end being her choosing one of them. That there would be pressure to move one relationship forward along with the other, forcing it into an unnatural pace, whichever relationship that might be, so that it did not appear to be left behind.</p><p> </p><p>She had never slept with multiple people at one time. She’d dated down South but had always been the serious relationship type. There had been Billy Bracken in high school and Trystane Martell in University and otherwise just a handful of dates that had lead to kissing but nothing more. The idea of sleeping with two men continuously was overwhelming. Let alone the names she might be called if anyone ever found out.</p><p> </p><p>And while all that ought to be enough for the girl whom everyone believed to be so practical, it was eclipsed by the fear that she felt so deep in her bones, so vividly in her heart, that it was almost certainly a premonition - that if she were to take this leap, she would fall wholly and equally and irreversibly in love with them both.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>ya'll still with me?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 11</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Oooh I really struggled with this one, so I'm sorry if it's clunky. I also got distracted writing my new quarantine fic with my usual pairings.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“You good back there?,” he asked as they got settled into Jon’s car.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yes we <em>are</em>,” Myrcella answered though she was looking between Ghost and Grey Wind who flanked her on either side, vying for space to place their heads on her lap.</p><p> </p><p>Robb glanced at Jon who smirked as he adjusted the mirrors in his car. Ghost and Grey Wind’s affection for Myrcella had grown to comedic levels. They followed her around constantly and liked to sit on her bed while she got ready in the morning or read at night. It was with them that she was at her calmest. She liked to sit on the floor on sunny Saturday mornings and brush out their coats, and fed them pieces from her plate when she thought he or Jon wouldn’t notice. He’d find the last more charming if he didn’t imagine it was partially to trick him and Jon into thinking she was eating more than she was, but it certainly endeared the dogs to her.</p><p> </p><p>It was the first he or Jon had come even close to smiling since they’d seen the text messages. The pictures. Regret churned in Robb’s stomach, that he hadn’t gut Ramsay where he stood the day before or months before when he’d first approached Sansa.</p><p> </p><p>He understood why Myrcella of all people hadn’t told them about them. She was proud and self-reliant, and he knew that even though there shouldn’t be, there was a shame she associated with them. A fear that she had somehow encouraged the behavior, which of course she hadn’t. The text messages showed that clear as day, though he’d already known it.</p><p> </p><p>It had taken some convincing to still go down the police route with Jon. He, who knew ways of doing things quickly and efficiently without witnesses or evidence. Who Robb had never known to want to protect anyone as much as Myrcella Baratheon.</p><p> </p><p>Jon navigated through the narrow streets. It was a clear day, the kind that only ever happened after a heavy snow, and Robb took the sunglasses off his face and handed them to Jon as he pulled them onto the highway. Jon put them on wordlessly and increased his speed.</p><p> </p><p>It was a short drive to Winterfell, fifteen minutes without traffic once you got on the highway, and soon they were pulling off of it onto the country roads he’d learned to drive on.</p><p> </p><p>Jon nudged him and Robb turned and Jon gestured behind them. Robb turned around and saw that Myrcella had fallen asleep on Ghost, Grey Wind was resting his head at what had to be an uncomfortable angle on her back. None of them had slept well the night before, and even when Myrcella had been showered and ready she had purple circles under her eyes. She’d had them the day before too, though they’d been fainter, and Robb figured she hadn’t slept much on Friday night either.</p><p> </p><p>“Take the long way,” Robb suggested and Jon turned left to do just that.</p><p> </p><p>It only added a couple of minutes to the drive but Robb knew Myrcella would be all personality as soon as she arrived. The perfectionist in her and hardwired manners demanded it, on top of the fact that she adored his parents and younger brothers.</p><p> </p><p>Jon pulled down the long drive and then into the circular one and shut off the car. They both got out and closed their doors quietly and then Robb went around to the trunk to pull out Myrcella’s cookies.</p><p> </p><p>Jon opened the back door and Robb saw him touch his hand to Myrcella’s cheek, waking her gently. Ghost exited the door and then Myrcella got out, taking the hand Jon offered her. Robb opened the other door and let Grey Wind out and he saw Jon asking Myrcella something and her nodding and saying something that made Jon crinkle his eyes at her.</p><p> </p><p>It was strange. A week ago that would have made him feel horribly jealous. It was still there, the envy. The desire for her focus to be on him and him alone. But oddly the fact that he knew where they all stood made it easier to stomach. That he and Jon were no longer competing. That there was no competition to be had.</p><p> </p><p>They all closed the doors and Robb walked around to their side of the car.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella smiled at him sleepily and he offered, “Do you want to take a nap in my room before lunch? No one would mind.”</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head, “No I’m alright, but I think I’m going to stick around here with your Mom and Bran. Let you two go off to the woods and tire Rickon and the dogs out.”</p><p> </p><p>“One guess who will drop first,” Jon joked and they both laughed.</p><p> </p><p>His youngest brother was notoriously full of energy. The baby of the brood, they all indulged him. He liked to wrestle with him and Jon and played hours of video games with Bran. Sansa would read him book after book after book, even long after he was old enough to read himself, and Arya taught him how to fence in her spare time.</p><p> </p><p>The dogs led the way to the front door, their tails wagging and all but jumping up and down. Robb opened the door and they shoved their way through, and he heard his Mom yelling <em>Oh come on Shaggy! </em>and then something falling to the floor.</p><p> </p><p>“Welcome,” he grinned at Myrcella.</p><p> </p><p>A moment later his family appeared in the foyer. His Mom was wearing an apron and had flour on her cheek. Rickon was still in his flannel pajama pants and what looked to be one of his old t shirts with his high school’s logo on it. Bran had a large book on his lap, and he too was wearing an apron, and his Dad was dressed in his snow boots and a pair of work pants, a beat up old quarter zip on.</p><p> </p><p>His family swarmed them, or rather Myrcella. He and Jon were regulars and therefore entirely uninteresting to all of them.</p><p> </p><p>They were ushered further inside and they passed the dining room which already had the table fully set.</p><p> </p><p>Shaggydog and Summer came to greet them and Ghost and Grey Wind, and for a moment the world was all wagging tails. No Ramsay, no weirdness between him and Jon and Myrcella. Home had a way of simplifying things, even if just for a moment.</p><p> </p><p>“So does anyone want snow shoes or are we just walking?,” his Dad asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Walking,” Robb affirmed.</p><p> </p><p>“Same,” Jon agreed.</p><p> </p><p>“What about you, Rick?,” his Dad asked.</p><p> </p><p>Rickon, fourteen and practically vibrating with excitement turned to Myrcella, “I can show you how to snow shoe!”</p><p> </p><p>Robb glanced at Jon who was smirking and fought the urge to laugh. It wasn’t like they were much better when it came to her but Rickon had such a youthful disregard for his own pride that was really refreshing.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella’s face fell, “Aw that’s such a lovely offer, but I think I’m going to stay here and help your Mom and Bran.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” Rickon nodded and shrugged, “Yeah maybe I will too.”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” his Mom shook her head, “You won’t.”</p><p> </p><p>Now Robb did start to laugh. Clearly his Mom needed a break so he tugged Rickon under his arm and said, “Come on buddy. You can sit next to her at lunch.”</p><p> </p><p>“Fine,” Rickon grumbled.</p><p> </p><p>“You good if we head out?,” Jon asked Myrcella.</p><p> </p><p>Everyone turned to look at him but Robb looked at Myrcella who was blushing like mad.</p><p> </p><p>He tugged Myrcella then and dipped her dramatically, “Will you ever survive our absence?”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella lifted her hand to her forehead and adopted a bewildered tone, “I shall try to bear it with as much grace as god gave me.”</p><p> </p><p>As he brought her back up she squeezed his forearm and he squeezed her side. He wanted to do more, but he always did. He wanted to kiss her right there, in front of everybody, just as he’d wanted to kiss her in their kitchen when no one was watching.</p><p> </p><p>Unlike Jon, he knew she’d be okay. Better probably, without either of them there. Without them in her face or looking at her or very obviously trying not to say anything about the text messages. When they were gone she’d be able to pretend they were all just roommates.</p><p> </p><p>He pulled Rickon into the front hall and grabbed his coat and hat, placing it on the bench next to his younger brother as he pulled on his boots. Jon joined him a minute later and Robb spared him a half-smile. Jon only grimaced back, making it clear that he knew he’d screwed up but not quite being able to thank him either.</p><p> </p><p>His Dad came into the foyer, followed by the dogs, and without another word to anyone they headed out into the cold. They walked around the back of the house, towards the woods.</p><p> </p><p>He and Jon both answered his Dad’s questions, though his Dad really shouldn’t have had any for him considering they worked together and saw each other every day. Rickon trotted along like a puppy, sometimes next to him and sometimes next to Jon.</p><p> </p><p>He ran ahead and Shaggydog started herding him, until he finally took him out at the knees and Rickon fell laughing into the snow. Jon chuckled and Robb turned to look at him, his face smiling as well, and for a moment he was grateful Myrcella had opted to stay behind.</p><p> </p><p>It felt nice to be out in the cold, walking in the bright sun with Jon. Where they too could pretend for a moment that they were just roommates, that there wasn’t a girl a half mile back who they both wanted more fiercely than they could explain.</p><p> </p><p>As they got onto the wooded path, his Dad, as though he sensed something between them, took Rickon on ahead. The dogs followed behind, knowing the way but uncomfortable letting his little brother out of their sight.</p><p> </p><p>“What she was saying earlier,” Robb said when they were alone, “About him. That you wanted there to be a record.”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry about it,” Jon bristled. As though he hadn’t alluded to it after they’d seen the messages.</p><p> </p><p>Robb stopped and grabbed Jon’s arm, “I do fucking worry about it. And I want in. Whatever it is.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon pulled out of his grasp and kept walking, leaving Robb no choice but to follow behind. In times like this he felt almost like a child. He knew there were things about him that made Jon feel small too, and perhaps it was that which had preserved their friendship all these years. Both of them respected the other and knew that there were bits of themselves that would never measure up to the other.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you hear me?,” Robb asked as he caught up to him.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah I fucking heard you,” Jon grunted. “So are we going to talk about that or the thing we actually need to talk about?”</p><p> </p><p>Robb sighed. In some ways Ramsay was the easier of the two subjects. It was so clear cut, the right thing. <em>Protect her</em>, there could be no arguing with it. The other thing was murkier, more dangerous in its ambiguity.</p><p> </p><p>“Last night you said you weren’t advocating it,” Robb pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>“Because I hoped someone would come up with something else,” Jon grumbled.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Robb agreed.</p><p> </p><p>“Would we…,” Jon started and Robb glanced at him, surprised to find him blushing.</p><p> </p><p>That could only mean one thing. The same question he’d had since Jon had first uttered the possibility.</p><p> </p><p>“Be with her together?,” Robb clarified anyway and the clench of Jon’s jaw told him he was right. “I don’t know.”</p><p> </p><p>Flashes of naked limbs, her in between them, her breasts against his chest and her arms wrapped around Jon’s neck behind her. He felt the blood in his ears. Among other places.</p><p> </p><p>Jon looked away from him and Robb wondered if it was written all over his face.</p><p> </p><p>That a part of him craved it. Seeing them together. The two of them with her. Her gorgeous body being devoured by them both.</p><p> </p><p>He remembered then that wolves hunted in packs.</p><p> </p><p>“If she wanted to,” Jon said then and Robb glanced at him. His eyes looked almost feral and Robb could practically taste the blood in his mouth. “Maybe it’d be easier… you know um… neither of us would feel left out.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’d want her on my own too,” Robb noted, feeling awful for even having this conversation. He knew she should be here for it, they both did. He could practically hear her retort <em>Oh so you’re just going to share me then? This isn’t some frat party. </em>The fire in her eyes and the jut of her chin. And underneath it all her heart pumping wildly at the thought. “Wouldn’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Jon nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“We have to stop competing,” Robb noted. “You know she’ll see right through it… we’d just need to let it go at a natural pace. Let’s be real, if you or I weren’t in the picture she’d make the other one wait anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon smirked, “Drive herself crazy making us wait.”</p><p> </p><p>“She’s so stubborn,” Robb lamented. “And more in control of herself than either of us could ever hope to be.”</p><p> </p><p>“Is she?,” Jon asked and Robb looked at him. “Now I mean.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb shook his head, “I don’t know.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon stopped walking so Robb did too. They were silent for a moment, they could only just hear Rickon’s laughter and the dogs barks in the distance.</p><p> </p><p>“If we go at a natural pace,” Jon said, his eyes on the ground, “I’ll be left behind.”</p><p> </p><p>And there it was. The thing about him that made Jon feel small. He could see it clearly, as clearly as if Jon was hurrying to catch him.</p><p> </p><p>In spite of all of it, Jon was still his best friend. The person Robb loved more than almost anyone. The one who’d grown up without a father, who was good at everything and yet didn’t know it.</p><p> </p><p>“She doesn’t want two of me,” Robb reminded him. “She wants both of us.”</p><p> </p><p>“You make her wild,” Jon told him.</p><p> </p><p>“And she feels safer with you because of it,” Robb pointed out. “Don’t you get it? She wants us both. Us. She doesn’t want two guys. It’s Myrcella Baratheon. This is <em>killing </em>her. But she wants us both. Me and you. Who each of us are. The pace each of us would go. Me and you. She doesn’t want us to be the same. She wouldn’t want us both if we were the same.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon nodded and started walking again.</p><p> </p><p>There were still things they hadn’t discussed, things they weren’t going to discuss. Certain things were too crude. Neither of them were Theon. They wouldn’t discuss the mechanics of it. Others too hard. Like where this could all possibly lead.</p><p> </p><p>So they kept walking, catching up with his Dad and Rickon after a time. Robb couldn’t bear the look his Dad gave him, like he was worried and terribly proud all at once.</p><p> </p><p>When they returned he and Jon came in through the kitchen door and found Myrcella standing at the stove.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes had purple circles under them still but they were bright as was her smile as she turned to look at them.</p><p> </p><p>“Ooh a pair of icicles,” she cooed.</p><p> </p><p>“Beach weather,” Jon shrugged and Myrcella giggled.</p><p> </p><p>She was alone in the kitchen so Robb didn’t hesitate to rub her back briefly but purposefully as he walked by her. He took off his coat and kicked off his boots and then sat on the counter beside her.</p><p> </p><p>“Smells good,” he told her.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella grabbed a wooden spoon and dipped it in the bubbling liquid. She blew on it briefly and then proffered it to him.</p><p> </p><p>“Tell me what it needs,” she requested.</p><p> </p><p>He leaned forward, his eyes locked onto her jade ones and licked a small portion off the spoon. It was spicy and sweet and perfect.</p><p> </p><p>And he said, “I don’t know, give Jon a taste.”</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes flashed in understanding. There was anger and relief there too. Anger that they’d decided without her, relief that they hadn’t made her do it. And if he wasn’t mistaken there was desire there. And shame. And a hundred other things that he hoped he wasn’t alone in feeling.</p><p> </p><p>She turned towards Jon and offered him the same spoon. Both he and her held their breaths as they watched Jon decide what he was going to do.</p><p> </p><p>Jon leaned forward and took the spoon in between his lips. And suddenly Robb could smell her.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s heaven,” Jon told her, his voice like gravel.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella snapped out of it and brought the spoon to the sink and rinsed it. Robb glanced briefly at Jon and then they both looked around the room, making sure there was still no one around.</p><p> </p><p>She turned back around, holding her neck, her other arm wrapped around stomach.</p><p> </p><p>“So that’s it, then?,” she asked them both.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” he shook his head.</p><p> </p><p>“Not until we know what you want,” Jon noted.</p><p> </p><p>“But you both…,” she prompted.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” he told her.</p><p> </p><p>She nodded and walked towards them slowly, retaking her place at the stove between them. She returned the spoon to its rest and then placed her hands on the metal in front of the stove.</p><p> </p><p>Slowly her hands started moving outwards. One towards him and the other towards Jon.</p><p> </p><p>Robb took a step closer to her and Jon did the same.</p><p> </p><p>He fought the urge to tug her towards him and instead took another step closer to her, until he could press his body against her side. He felt a hand at his stomach and only then realized that Jon had wrapped an arm around her back.</p><p> </p><p>Robb leaned his head against hers, breathing her in. Kissing her temple. He hooked his arm around her neck. Almost pretending that Jon wasn’t there at all, except for that hand and the way it rubbed his front as it stroked Myrcella’s side.</p><p> </p><p>“Where’s your room?,” she asked softly.</p><p> </p><p>“Just upstairs,” he breathed out.</p><p> </p><p>“Show me,” she pleaded. She looked up at him briefly and then turned to Jon. “Both of you.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>👀</p><p>What do we think?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Chapter 12</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It felt as though the door closing shook the whole house though he’d done it as quietly as he was able. Myrcella and Robb both turned to look at him though which confirmed it.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella turned from him first, stepping deeper into the room though no closer to Robb’s bed. Jon had been in here countless times but this was her first. He turned and looked at it through her eyes. It was just as it had been when Robb was in high school, apart from the nearly empty closet.</p><p> </p><p>The desk where his enormous computer used to be and the trophies from lacrosse and football. Pictures of the Starks and him and Theon, a plaid comforter and an old teddy bear in the closet.</p><p> </p><p>There was nowhere to sit other than the desk chair or the bed, and he knew that the bed would destroy any attempt at appearing non-threatening. He walked behind Myrcella and went and sat at the desk.</p><p> </p><p>She turned to look at him as he sat and Robb started walking over to the bed and the seemed to think better of it too for he walked over and perched against the desk. They each tried to make themselves smaller as Myrcella drew herself up to her full height.</p><p> </p><p>“M…,” he started and then thought better of it.</p><p> </p><p>She started to move closer and then she stopped herself.</p><p> </p><p>“I want to kiss one of you,” she admitted, then amended, “Both of you. But I don’t want to…”</p><p> </p><p><em>Choose</em>.</p><p> </p><p>She still wasn’t getting it. That was the point of all this, that she didn’t have to.</p><p> </p><p>And yet in the deepest parts of himself he knew that it would feel like a choice, whomever she reached for first. In spite of it all, everything they’d said, everything they’d meant, everything they were prepared to do. It would feel like a choice.</p><p> </p><p>“Come over here,” Robb told her.</p><p> </p><p>Jon glanced at him and Robb’s jaw clenched, which told him he’d heard it too. That ever so slight change in his voice that pushed it just out of the realm of conversation.</p><p> </p><p>To Jon’s surprise – horror, delight – Myrcella listened and came over to him. Perhaps she was grateful not to have to think in this moment. Jon had felt that before, not in a scenario such as this, but in moments that he had known before they happened he would always remember, he had sometimes been grateful to be following orders. It made it easier to sleep at night.</p><p> </p><p>Any firmness in Robb’s tone was defeated by the tenderness with which he took Myrcella’s cheeks in his hands and pressed his lips to her forehead. Jon watched as Myrcella’s eyes closed at his touch, her hands holding onto Robb’s wrists.</p><p> </p><p>They were beautiful together. Jon could admit that. He’d always been able to see it, how absolutely right they looked with one another.</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s hands traveled from Myrcella’s cheeks to her neck to her shoulders, down her arms and settled on her waist. He spun her then, pulling her back against him.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella’s intake of breath and the flush on her cheeks, Robb’s large hands on her slender waist. Jon felt himself growing and his heart thudding in his chest as he watched them.</p><p> </p><p>Robb pushed Myrcella’s hair to the side and kissed her cheek and then in her ear said, “Kiss Jon.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon had never loved him more than he did in that moment. It would have been so easy to leave him behind and yet, when he had Myrcella in his grasp he named him.</p><p> </p><p>His focus on Robb though was fleeting, because Myrcella’s eyes flicked to him and he could see it there. <em>Desire</em>. Desire for Robb, desire for him, desire for them both in spite of her better self.</p><p> </p><p>She reached her small hand out and he took it in his own. He stood up then and moved in front of her. It was strange, Robb’s hands around her waist, her back to his chest, but Myrcella was looking up at him and everything else just sort of faded to black.</p><p> </p><p>For a brief moment he wondered if he should say something to her, to reassure her, but then she smiled at him. It was a small smile but he felt it reflected in his own features and then he leaned down and kissed her because he remembered what she was. A beautiful girl he adored who wanted him to.</p><p> </p><p>Her lips were soft and yielding against his, but they opened for him and his tongue slipped against hers. He groaned into her mouth and she sighed against his, and then her arms were wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer.</p><p> </p><p>His hands moved to her body too, looking for a place to rest. They moved to her waist but they immediately covered Robb’s.</p><p> </p><p>Jon opened his eyes and found Robb looking at him too, over her shoulder. Slowly he felt Robb’s hands moving down underneath his own to Myrcella’s hips and then they rested on her thighs.</p><p> </p><p>He felt Myrcella’s intake of breath and he kissed her deeper then. And she moaned in his mouth.</p><p> </p><p>Jon all but fell against her when she pulled back slightly, and it took him a moment to blink and understand why.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella’s head had fallen back to Robb’s shoulder as he kissed her neck. And just like that she was the girl from the day before. Rumpled bed sheets and lips red from kissing.</p><p> </p><p>He did not know what it said about him, that he wanted her even more like this, but he did.</p><p> </p><p>So he pulled her up, against him. She let out a startled noise that almost sounded like a moan, looking up at him though as if he was breaking the rules, though none had been established.</p><p> </p><p>He turned her around though and walked her back in between Robb’s legs.</p><p> </p><p>Robb glanced at him briefly but then his sole focus was on Myrcella as he leaned forward and kissed her.</p><p> </p><p>And to Jon’s surprise he wasn’t worrying if her kiss with Robb seemed more passionate. All he was wondering was how much of her he could touch. How much she’d allow, because he wanted all of it. All of her.</p><p> </p><p>He knew her thighs were safe so his hands started their, grasping her slender legs. He pulled her up against him and as she leaned forward to kiss Robb her butt pushed against his hard cock.</p><p> </p><p>He lifted her hair up and kissed the back of her neck as his other hand move up her thighs to her hips to her waist. He pushed her sweater up slightly so that he could grasp her bare skin in his hand.</p><p> </p><p>It was warm to the touch and it made him feel like an animal.</p><p> </p><p>He felt her arm move up his chest to wrap around his neck and he looked down at her and realized she was no longer kissing Robb. Her lips were there, red and wanting and he took her cheek in his hand and latched onto them.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Fucking hell</em>,” Robb groaned and then he was off the desk and he was there, his nose buried in Myrcella’s hair and his body against hers.</p><p> </p><p>Jon pressed against her too, until she was firmly in between them, every inch of her touching one or both.</p><p> </p><p>She broke their kiss and leaned her face against Robb’s chest, catching her breath.</p><p> </p><p>Jon also realized he was panting and hand went to the back of her head and stroked her soft hair. Robb too wrapped his arm safely around her waist and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.</p><p> </p><p>“We can’t have sex in your parents’ house,” she pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Robb agreed, blinking, his forehead perspiring, “<em>Holy fuck</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>It was only when she went to disentangle herself that he realized how thoroughly they had caught her in between them. As though he and Robb realized it at the same time they both used one hand to hold her upright but stepped away from her entirely.</p><p> </p><p>She extracted herself and walked towards the window, wrapping her arms around herself and looking out.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m… if it was one of you I wouldn’t be ready,” she told them.</p><p> </p><p>Since he and Robb had discussed that only an hour before they both told her they knew that.</p><p> </p><p>“But when it’s the two of you,” she breathed out, her neck tilting back and her hair falling down like a waterfall. She shook her head and turned around, and the sunlight caught in her hair making it look like a golden halo, in direct contrast to what had just been happening. “I don’t regret it. But until… that… can’t…”</p><p> </p><p>“Breathe, sweetheart,” Robb said, going over to the window to join her. “Was it, were we, too much –“</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Myrcella shook her head, looking in between them, “It was… <em>everything </em>I imagined and more but I… I’ve only slept with two people in my whole life I can’t double it at the same time. I… is that what you want, the three of us together all the time or…”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Jon assured her, “It’s not.”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded, her face crumbling for a moment and then she laughed, “It’s just a lot to keep track of.” Robb chuckled as Jon smirked. But then her face turned serious again and she said, “It’s just such a big thing. And I am not ready for it not to be.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Robb nodded.</p><p> </p><p>Jon agreed too. He knew that if they had pushed harder they could have her naked in between them. She wanted them as badly as they wanted her, perhaps even more when they were together than on their own. But neither of them wanted it that way, could ever want it that way.</p><p> </p><p>He understood, he’d thought himself an animal only minutes prior. There was something else there when the three of them were together. Something other to them entirely, and it made them want all things, things they weren’t ready for.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella looked at him and asked, “Why are you okay with this?”</p><p> </p><p>The way she asked him directly told him that she already had Robb’s answer. That must have been what they’d been talking about in the kitchen that morning before he’d woken up.</p><p> </p><p>He wasn’t sure what Robb had said, but he wasn’t going to lie to her, and he supposed he wanted Robb to hear it too.</p><p> </p><p>It was scary, to be so honest, but all things felt safe with the two of them. Even the dangerous ones.</p><p> </p><p>So he admitted, “Because I’ve never wanted someone and… <em>adored </em>them the way I do you. And neither has he. And he’s my best friend.”</p><p> </p><p>A blush rose on Myrcella’s cheeks and a small smile appeared on her lips, and he remembered once again the adoration part. The want had drowned it out for a moment but that was the part that was the strongest.</p><p> </p><p>“We didn’t talk about that much,” he realized, “Last night. Did we?”</p><p> </p><p>“Tensions were high,” she shrugged. “For all of us.”</p><p> </p><p>“Still,” Robb argued, “We should have explained. This isn’t just want. It’s so much more than that, for both of us.”</p><p> </p><p>“For me too,” she agreed, looking between them, “So <em>much </em>more.”</p><p> </p><p>And then he more fully understood it, that blush and that smile. Because it was more than knowing that you were wanted. There was something sturdier and less volatile.</p><p> </p><p>“So… I… date both of you,” she half-said, half-asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Robb agreed. And then as though remembering their talk from the woods he said to her, but to him too, “At whatever pace you want. Whatever pace feels natural to the people involved. Even if they differ.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella glanced at him and he nodded slowly at her.</p><p> </p><p>“Imagine what people will say,” she sighed.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t care what people say,” he noted.</p><p> </p><p>She raised her brow and asked, “About me?”</p><p> </p><p>His jaw clenched and he looked at Robb who was rubbing his cheek. They hadn’t talked about that, he hadn’t even thought about – anything outside of the three of them.</p><p> </p><p>She was right though, if anyone knew they wouldn’t understand. He and Robb, depending on who you asked, were heroes or saps. But Myrcella.</p><p> </p><p>No matter what version of the story people got they would always blame her.</p><p> </p><p>Jon didn’t know what to say, but it was just as well because there was a knock on the door.</p><p> </p><p>“Kids?,” Ned called.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella wiped her lips and straightened her sweater, “In here.”</p><p> </p><p>He opened the door and looked between the three of them. Jon very studiously did not look at the desk and only hoped that none of it was obvious on any of their faces.</p><p> </p><p>“Lunch is almost ready,” Ned told them. And then stepped into the room, “But I think you all have something to discuss with me.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon gulped and he <em>heard </em>Myrcella’s intake of breath. Thankfully Robb had a cool head.</p><p> </p><p>“Ramsay Bolton is after Myrcella,” Robb told him. “The way he was after Sansa.”</p><p> </p><p>Ned looked at Myrcella so Jon did too. She held her head high but her eyes didn’t quite meet Ned’s.</p><p> </p><p>Jon then felt Ned’s gaze on him and Jon met it. There was a sadness in his grey eyes, but whether it was for his daughter who had been terrorized, Myrcella who was being threatened, or what he saw within him, Jon didn’t know.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll follow you back after lunch, we’ll go make a statement. Get a restraining order. Do you have any proof?,” Ned asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Half a dozen witnesses at a coffee shop, and a girl and her father who’d support that he’d been there every day,” Robb said and then looked at Myrcella.</p><p> </p><p>“And some messages and pictures on my phone,” she supplied.</p><p> </p><p>Ned nodded, “That mixed with his history with Sansa and others… I’m so sorry Myrcella.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve got my champions to left and right,” she told him lightly.</p><p> </p><p>Ned glanced at Robb then and Jon knew that as great as his concern was for Myrcella and for him, Ned was absolutely petrified for Robb. Robb who had no restraint when it came to her. Robb who didn’t know about Ramsay breaking in to Sansa’s because Ned had been afraid of what he would do. His first son, his heir.</p><p> </p><p>Robb who loved Myrcella so obviously.</p><p> </p><p>“Let’s go see if Catelyn needs help,” Myrcella suggested to him.</p><p> </p><p>Jon glanced at Robb who was looking at his Dad and nodded. She rubbed Robb’s arm as she passed and then pulled him along, closing the door behind them. They started walking down the dark, quiet hallway.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you know what you just did?,” Jon asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Myrcella said, “I’m sure Robb’s getting an earful.” She stopped and turned to look at him. “One down, one to go.”</p><p> </p><p>He stepped closer to her and she shifted so her back was against the wall. He stretched his arms out, placing his hands on either side of her head, boxing her in entirely.</p><p> </p><p>“It won’t work,” he told her.</p><p> </p><p>“I have to try,” she reasoned. “As you both would, if it were me instead of you.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s a Catch-22, baby,” he warned her. “How do you not love the girl that tries to protect you even if it endangers her? How do you not love her <em>more </em>for trying? How does that not make you more determined to do <em>whatever</em> it takes to keep her safe?”</p><p> </p><p>“Jon,” she pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>He leaned in and he kissed her, pinning her against the wall. She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him against her further still.</p><p> </p><p>It would be so easy for him to lose himself. For them to lose themselves. There were countless empty bedrooms and he knew his way to all of them.</p><p> </p><p>He pressed a long kiss to her and then pulled away.</p><p> </p><p>“We don’t want to protect you because we think you’re weak,” he promised. Feeling it odd that he even had to say it. Pointing out, “Do you want to protect us because you think <em>we’re </em>weak?”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course not,” she sighed. She reached her fingers out to touch his cheek and then moved them to cover his lips. He kissed the tips of them and she closed her eyes. “I don’t want either of you to get hurt because of me. Or do anything that would get you into any trouble. This isn’t your problem.”</p><p> </p><p>His hand tightened around her wrist and he worked to keep his grasp gentle, which was difficult as he felt rage bubble within him.</p><p> </p><p>“Never,” he warned, “And I mean <em>never</em> insult me by saying that again.”</p><p> </p><p>“Jon,” she sighed.</p><p> </p><p>“No, Myrcella,” he released her wrist, pushing himself away from her. “I mean it. You’re far too smart to play the fool. And it makes a fool out of me as well.”</p>
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<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Chapter 13</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is just a short, calm one after the last chapter...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>There was nothing in her reflection that suggested the events of the day. She searched for it, but other than a bit of sadness in the eyes there was no mark upon her.</p><p> </p><p>Nothing to suggest she’d been held in between two men, their hands and their lips all over her. The day before she’d thought about it in ecstasy, this morning in trepidation, but when it had come to be it was somehow both everything she’d expected and nothing like she could have imagined. She could feel it, when she was with him. The want and the need and the love they had for her.</p><p> </p><p>She was not unaccustomed to being wanted, and a boy or two had tried to describe it as need when they wanted to go further than she would allow, but it had never been a tangible thing before. It had been today and she’d gotten lost in it, craved being lost in it.</p><p> </p><p>To feel their hands on her at once, their lips on her at once.</p><p> </p><p>She looked at her reflection in the mirror, her fingertips on her lips as though trying to set the memory. She wondered what her mother would say if she knew.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Slut,</em>” she whispered.</p><p> </p><p>But her heart wasn’t in it. She knew what the story would be, what the talk would be if anyone found out, but though in the safety of her own bedroom she could admit to herself that if they had tried they could have done <em>anything </em>with her in that moment, she could not find it in her to feel any shame. Perhaps it was because she knew how much they both cared for her, or because she had never wanted anything or anyone as badly as them, or simply the knowledge that she could do anything to them too. But she couldn’t feel shame.</p><p> </p><p>Not for that anyway.</p><p> </p><p>She looked in the mirror and looked for traces of the other thing. Bad fluorescent lighting and the stench of body odor and bad coffee and old files. The police chief had been kind enough, a bit gruff perhaps, but well intentioned. She had not expected him to be surprised by the messages or the images and he hadn’t been, but he had the grace to be very sorry about it, sorrier than he’d needed to be.</p><p> </p><p>Jon and Robb had sat with her on either side. Her champions to left and right as she’d told Ned only hours before. They answered the chief’s questions about their interactions with him, given Robb a half-hearted warning not to make a habit of pinning people to walls in crowded coffee shops.</p><p> </p><p><em>Save that for abandoned alley ways? </em>Robb had asked, somewhat indignantly.</p><p> </p><p><em>Or at least uncrowded coffee shops. </em>Chief Cassell had agreed, making them all relax for the first time.</p><p> </p><p>Ned had waited outside as they gave their account and then hugged them each goodbye, telling them he was going to stay behind to speak to the Chief. They’d driven home in mostly silence, none of them hungry for dinner, and parted ways.</p><p> </p><p>She got up from her vanity and placed the sweater she’d been wearing earlier in the day in her bag for dry cleaning. It had only just been cleaned and was hardly dirty, but it felt so. It was a small extravagance, given her current salary, and it would push her over her monthly budget she allotted for it, but she shoved it in anyway, drawing the string and throwing the bag in her closet to be dealt with in the morning.</p><p> </p><p>There was a soft knock on her door and she called, “<em>Come in.</em>”</p><p> </p><p>Robb opened the door a moment later. He too had showered and was now wearing an old <em>Winterfell Wolves </em>t shirt and a pair of flannel pajama bottoms. His feet were bare and the tips of his russet curls were still damp.</p><p> </p><p>She had known it would be him and couldn’t help but smile lightly at his predictability.</p><p> </p><p>He looked around her room. It always seemed to fascinate him. <em>It’s like you’re living in a cloud</em>, he’d told her one night as they’d laid in bed reading. <em>Like the angel you are. </em>She’d blushed and kept reading <em>Rebecca, </em>feeling very un-angelic for all the things she wanted.</p><p> </p><p>She wondered briefly if he felt the room still suited her, and then banished it for the unkind thought that it was. It would hurt him to know she had wondered at all.</p><p> </p><p>“You and Jon both ran off as soon as we got back,” he said, by way of explanation for his presence.</p><p> </p><p>“I wanted to shower,” she said and he nodded in understanding. And then she half-smiled, “And Jon’s angry with me.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb smiled weakly, “Can you blame him?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not you too,” she sighed, though she wasn’t wholly surprised that Jon had told him what she’d said or that Robb would feel similarly about it.</p><p> </p><p>Robb shrugged, “Not happy you said it but… not surprised you did either.”</p><p> </p><p>That was about as fair a response as she could have hoped for so she merely nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“But that’s not why I’m here,” he told her and her stomach churned even as something in it fluttered. He must have seen it on her face because she shook his head, “No not for that. Of <em>course </em>not for that after… I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you. It wasn’t easy what you did today, at the station, and I know you don’t want to talk about the specifics, which is fine, but I just wanted you to know that.”    </p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” she said with a thick throat, his pride meaning more to her than he could possibly imagine. “You made it much easier.”</p><p> </p><p>It was true. Not only did both Robb and Jon have a somehow more vivid memory of her run-ins with Ramsay than she did, but they had both been so strong, so close. Their anger so righteous that it allowed her to ignore the shame she felt.</p><p> </p><p>“Dad called,” he told her. “If he violates it once he’ll be arrested, and they are prepared to put a tail on him if that doesn’t work.”</p><p> </p><p>“I assume I have your Dad to thank for that,” she grimaced.</p><p> </p><p>Robb shook his head, “It was Cassell’s idea. They know what he is.”</p><p> </p><p>Not who. What.</p><p> </p><p>She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, wondering if the fear was plain on her face or if she somehow managed to hide it the way people always said she could. She wondered if Robb could see through it, through her.</p><p> </p><p>For the first time in her life she wanted someone to.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want to be alone?,” he asked gently.</p><p> </p><p>“What am I always telling you?,” she forced lightness into her voice and the way he grimaced told her that he did. That he heard it, saw it. “Being in your company is better than being alone.”</p><p> </p><p>She wondered how much of what he did was on purpose, if he even thought about it at all. She wondered if he knew that after the events of today, all of them, she wouldn’t want to be behind closed doors with a man. Even if it was him.</p><p> </p><p>He left the door opened and walked towards her, his hand squeezing her shoulder gently.</p><p> </p><p>“Should we pick a book?” he asked, already on his way to the shelves.</p><p> </p><p>“Dealer’s choice,” she told him, turning on her bedside lamp and then pulling up the covers so that she could get in between.</p><p> </p><p>He pulled something off the shelf and walked around to the other side of her bed, getting on top of the covers and settling in.</p><p> </p><p>“You don’t have to…,” she said when she saw what he’d chosen.</p><p> </p><p>He smiled softly at her, “I think it’s just the thing.”</p><p> </p><p>She moved closer to him then and he lifted his arm so that she could curl up at his side. She placed her head on his chest, wrapping her arm around him and felt one of his hands start to stroke her hair.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you comfortable?” she yawned.</p><p> </p><p>“Perfectly,” he promised as he pressed a warm kiss to her temple. He turned the first page and his deep tenor soothed as much as the words, <em>“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,’ grumbled Jo, lying on the rug…</em>”</p><p> </p><p>She closed her eyes and listened as the girls gave away their Christmas breakfast and met Laurie. She saw bits of herself in all of them – Jo’s willfulness and Meg’s desire for more, Beth’s fear and Amy’s cheek.</p><p> </p><p>She persuaded Robb under the covers and more thoroughly curled up against him. There had been so many nights, lying here just the two of them, that she had wanted to do exactly this. He was affectionate, had been since they first met, but there was something already so intimate about lying in bed with someone that to cross that final line would have been irreversible.</p><p> </p><p>They had crossed it, though, already, and now all she wanted was to feel his arms around her and the warmth of his chest, the comforting <em>thud, thud, thud </em>of his heart.</p><p> </p><p>The hand not holding the book was underneath her pajama top, splayed across her back, his voice barely above a murmur, his lips so close to her ear it didn’t matter.</p><p> </p><p>He stopped reading and she snuggled in against him until she heard a light, slow rapping on her open door.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon,” she smile-yawned.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, I don’t want to interrupt,” he told them.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re not,” she and Robb said in tandem.</p><p> </p><p>“I can go,” Robb suggested.</p><p> </p><p>“No, that’s alright,” Jon said, and she sat up in bed because his tone suggested to her that she ought to. He was wearing grey sweatpants and a black t shirt, his long hair pulled back into the knot she loved. He came into her room and sat at the edge of her bed. “I just wanted to apologize.”</p><p> </p><p>“You have nothing to apologize for,” she told him, “I shouldn’t have said it.”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” he allowed, “But if I were you, I would have said the same thing, so.”</p><p> </p><p>She stretched and leaned forward, reaching out her hand and he took it gently in his.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s only because I love you both,” she told him. “I just couldn’t stand it if…”</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” he promised. He looked at her then, “And nothing will.”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded and he leaned forward further and pressed a kiss to her palm.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll leave you guys to it,” he said, “But um… I was really proud of you today.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiled and looked at Robb who was as well. Jon didn’t seem to notice and got up.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon,” Robb said as Jon walked towards the door. Jon turned around and Robb told him, “Meg and Jo are going to the theater if…”</p><p> </p><p>She squeezed his hand underneath the covers, and he squeezed hers back. Jon glanced at her and she smiled, and he walked around the bed and got in on her other side.</p><p> </p><p>“So, how little are these women anyway?,” Jon asked, quoting one of her favorite Friends episodes.</p><p> </p><p>“Like… scaaary little?,” Myrcella asked him as she’d laughed.</p><p> </p><p>“Children,” Robb ordered, “Quiet please.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry,” her and Jon mumbled.</p><p> </p><p>She lay in between them as Robb read, touching neither. She was less sure of how to manage cuddling than anything they’d done prior.</p><p> </p><p>But as was so often the case, her brain seemed to complicate things that her body knew instinctually.</p><p> </p><p>For she had never felt more precisely where she was meant to be, than when she woke up the next morning, resting against Jon’s chest, with Robb’s body curled around her own.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>ya'll still with me?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Chapter 14</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>“Honey, I’m home,” he called, taking off his coat.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella appeared in the doorway of the kitchen, a smile on her face. She was so breathtaking, still in her clothes from work, but she’d replaced her shoes with slippers.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi,” she said softly, closing the distance between them and wrapping her arms around his neck.</p><p> </p><p>He leaned down and kissed her, and her whole body was warm and he couldn’t help but hold her to him.</p><p> </p><p>“I missed you <em>all day</em>,” she grinned. “All day.”</p><p> </p><p>He could feel himself blushing, “Me too.”</p><p> </p><p>The week had been uneventful. Thankfully, for the time being anyway, his warning to Ramsay at the coffee shop had seemed to work. The Boltons <em>had</em> reneged on their deal with Project Level, but thankfully the work Myrcella and Barristan had done over the weekend had meant that it didn’t much matter. It turned out his HR department had taken on a couple more and when he’d found that out he’d requested one of them to be assigned to him.</p><p> </p><p>Podrick Payne had a lot to learn but he was eager to, and the smile on Myrcella’s face when he told her made up for any errors the boy made. She told him that he had a lot of promise, that he just needed a bit of nurturing and encouragement, so Robb was trying to provide it.</p><p> </p><p>“Your cheeks are so cold,” Myrcella told him, kissing each of them.</p><p> </p><p>He chuckled and buried his face in her warm neck, “They’ll be alright in a minute.”</p><p> </p><p>He felt her fingers in his hair and his grip tightened around her back. She was wearing a dress that he loved on her, a dark green one made from some soft material he didn’t know, that made her eyes look even brighter than normal.</p><p> </p><p>He moved one of his hands up her back, gripping onto her shoulder and moved the other down so he could squeeze her butt.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon home?,” he asked, though he’d be surprised if he was.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” she said, “He texted and told me he’d be working late.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” he said, “So it’s just us then.”</p><p> </p><p>He felt her scrunch his hair in her fingers and take a deep breath. She pulled away from him slightly.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” she smiled lightly, pressing a quick, soft kiss to his lips. “Wine?”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded and she lead him into the kitchen and he saw that she’d already opened a bottle. He hadn’t tasted it on her lips though and there were no glasses out so he pulled down two of them and poured some in each.</p><p> </p><p>Robb handed her one of the glasses and she clinked it against his. Their eyes were on each other’s as they each took a sip. It was the cab she liked, the one he now liked, but it tasted almost bitter in contrast to her sweetness. Even still he took another sip before setting the glass down on the counter.</p><p> </p><p>“So,” she said after taking a sip, “How was your day?”</p><p> </p><p><em>Long, from missing you, </em>he wanted to tell her.</p><p> </p><p>“Uneventful,” he said instead, “Yours?”</p><p> </p><p>“Much the same,” she admitted, “I had to do an interview with the Times again. That same reporter. Barristan took most of the tough questions but he really had the bit between his teeth.”</p><p> </p><p>“The Boltons leak something?” he wondered.</p><p> </p><p>She shrugged, “Someone from the paper was at that event on Saturday night. Must have tipped them off. To be honest they were mostly friendly. Even offered, off the record of course, to speak to their HR team about taking a crop next time around.”</p><p> </p><p>He chuckled, “Only you could achieve that.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiled, “Most people want you to think they are nice people.”</p><p> </p><p>He looked at her and wondered at one point in her life that had changed from <em>Most people are nice people</em>. There was so much about her that he still didn’t know.</p><p> </p><p>He went the easier route of pretend jealousy, “I’d wager most men are eager to convince you how nice they can be.”</p><p> </p><p>She chuckled, “Bully for them.”</p><p> </p><p>She sat up on the counter and took another sip of wine, looking at him, a small smile on her lips.</p><p> </p><p>“What is it?” he wondered.</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing,” she lied, the edges of a giggle in her tone though she didn’t laugh.</p><p> </p><p>He did though, “El you’re practically vibrating.”</p><p> </p><p>A delicious, telling blush landed on her cheeks and she took a sip of wine, her lips pursed together though her dimples implied a smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing I just remembered that I had a dream about you last night,” she offered.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” he dangled, taking a sip of wine. He placed his glass back down and asked, “Was I on the stage?”</p><p> </p><p>Now she did giggle and shook her head, “No, no you weren’t on the stage.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hmm,” he teased, closing the small distance to her and opening her legs so that he could step in between them. He placed his hands on the counter on either side of her and brushed her nose with his, “Was I falling from a great great distance?”</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes went wide and she shook her head.</p><p> </p><p>“Was I…,” he wondered, his lips just barely against hers. He was teasing her but it was working against him. He couldn’t think straight when he was this close to her. Even still he managed to joke, “Doing something saucy?”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Yes</em>,” she whispered against his lips.</p><p> </p><p>He took hold of hers then and she offered them to him freely. He took her cheeks in his hands and she opened her mouth to his and he wanted to crawl inside of her and stay there forever.</p><p> </p><p>He pulled her by the thighs against him and groaned when she wrapped her legs around his waist, her hands loosening his tie.</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella,” he said against her lips.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I’m sure,” she answered his unasked question.</p><p> </p><p>He had no idea what had made her change her mind. On Sunday she had told them that she wasn’t ready and reiterated the sentiment this week. They’d done other things, kissed and cuddled and touched, but there had been no discussion of more.</p><p> </p><p>Something changed though, apparently, as she pulled his tie over his head and unbuttoned his top buttons, kissing his collarbone. His hands moved all over her body, lifting her thigh as he pressed against her center.</p><p> </p><p><em>“Robb</em>,” she moaned.</p><p> </p><p>He pulled her off the counter and walked her into his bedroom, not bothering to close the door. He tackled her onto his bed and her hands reached for his belt buckle as his went up her dress to pull down her tights.</p><p> </p><p>He yanked them down revealing her toned legs and he buried his head under her dress and pressed a kiss to her over her underwear. He could feel how wet she was through the thin lace and he growled against her.</p><p> </p><p>“Now, now, now,” she pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t even get his pants fully off he just shoved them down and climbed on top of her and then pushed inside of her.</p><p> </p><p>They both let out a groan as their bodies connected. She was perfect, warm and wet and so tight it brought stars to his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” she cried.</p><p> </p><p>He looked down at her to ask if she was alright, but it was written all over her face. She was in ecstasy, just as he was, and that understanding flooded through his whole body.</p><p> </p><p>He was on his knees, bent over her and he took her hands in his and brought them over her head. He thrust into her hard, the way she wanted it, and her face crumbled in pleasure.</p><p> </p><p>There would be time for softness and lingering touches. But not now.</p><p> </p><p>He thrust into her again and she squeezed his hands with hers, lifting her shoulders off the bed and kissing him. He thrust again and she cried out into his mouth.</p><p> </p><p>He lowered her back to the bed, thrusting and kissing her all the while until she broke it, letting out a surprised and delighted moan.</p><p> </p><p>“Harder,” she cried.</p><p> </p><p>He thrust so hard he felt the bed move underneath them, just as he felt her tighten around him.</p><p> </p><p>“Is that what you want?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>She liked it when he spoke to her, which was good because he’d always been vocal in bed. She seemed to crave it though as he did. The other night she’d crumbled under his fingers as he talked her all the way through it.</p><p> </p><p>He gripped both of her wrists in on hand and moved the other down to her face. He took her cheek in his hand, his thumb tugging at her bottom lip.</p><p> </p><p>“Answer me,” he thrust again. “Is that how you want it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” she cried out, lifting her neck, exposing it.</p><p> </p><p>He latched onto it with his mouth and his hand, thrusting again. Her body was shuddering around him or he never would have squeezed tighter, her neck and her wrists. But she was, so he did.</p><p> </p><p>“R<em>obb</em>,” she cried out and he went blind as he felt her orgasm on every inch of his cock.</p><p> </p><p>“Fucking hell,” he cried out as she came down. “I’m not going to last, where should I come?”</p><p> </p><p>It was a miracle he lasted at all when her tongue went in his ear and she said, “In my mouth.”</p><p> </p><p>He pulled out of her, biting his lip so as not to groan and got on his back. She didn’t kiss down his body, didn’t make a show of it. She just straddled his torso, and took his cock inside her mouth.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Mmmella</em>,” he moaned as he felt her tongue swirling around him.</p><p> </p><p>He lifted up her dress, taking her butt cheeks in his hands and gripping them as she bobbed up and down on him. He could feel her wetness through his shirt vaguely and her mouth was like a suction cup around him. He gripped her ass and then spanked one of the cheeks and she moaned around his cock and – he cried out as he came.</p><p> </p><p>She sucked him until he stopped pulsing and longer yet until he rubbed her back, his head against the bed and his ears ringing.</p><p> </p><p>“What the fuck did you dream?” he couldn’t help but ask and he felt as much as heard her laughing.</p><p> </p><p>She turned around and straddled him once again, leaning down and kissing his cheek.</p><p> </p><p>“Not that,” she admitted.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m done,” he told her. “I’ve accomplished everything in life I wanted to.”</p><p> </p><p>“But I want to do it again,” she teased, and he chuckled.</p><p> </p><p>“Did I hurt you?” he asked, lifting them up so he could look at her neck.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” she promised, “And even if you had I practically begged you to.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” he teased in her ear, pressing a gentle kiss to her neck where he’d held her, “I remember.”</p><p> </p><p>She wrapped her arms around him, her hands on his shoulder blades. His arms wrapped around her too and she shivered.</p><p> </p><p>“I can be nicer,” he promised, kissing her neck again.</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” she told him, “Which is why it felt safe when you weren’t. More than safe. <em>Incredible</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>He hugged her to him and felt her kiss his cheek and temple and hair. He held her tighter and breathed her in, thanking whatever God existed that he hadn’t known this is what was waiting for him because he never would have made it through the day.</p><p> </p><p>“I can be nice too,” she told him.</p><p> </p><p>He chuckled against her, “Oh after that, you’re just about the nicest person I’ve ever met.”</p><p> </p><p>She giggled but pulled away from him and said, “I mean it. I can be soft and gentle and all the things I’m supposed to be… You just bring something out in me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sweetheart,” he sighed, “I’ve laid in bed with you as you’ve read in the voice of pirates, watched you squeeze my Mom’s hand across a table, held you in my arms. I know how soft and gentle you can be. But my god, Myrcella. The part of you I just saw? <em>I like her</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiled, closing her eyes and he kissed her lips. He could taste himself on her, but he didn’t mind it, not when it was her.</p><p> </p><p>He moved one of his hands up her back and pulled down the zipper of her dress. Her grin widened and she opened her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“I thought you were done,” she teased.</p><p> </p><p>“Not quite,” he told her, hearing that his voice was thick.</p><p> </p><p>He pulled the dress off of her shoulders and kissed one of them as he pulled it further down her body. She lifted her arms and he grinned as he pulled the hem up her body taking it off of her entirely.</p><p> </p><p>She wore only a pale pink lace bra and he kissed her soft, warm breasts.</p><p> </p><p>She arched her back and he thought it was to give him more access but really she just shoved his pants further down his legs. He couldn’t help but laugh that he hadn’t got them fully off, like an over eager virgin on prom night, and kicked them off his legs.</p><p> </p><p>He kept her back arched and nuzzled her perfect breasts and her head tilted back and he felt the ends of her silky hair on his thighs.</p><p> </p><p>He nipped her breast and she gasped, her head coming back up and her hands taking his cheeks. He kissed her but it was her tongue who entered his mouth, and he moved his hands down her back, gripping onto her butt.</p><p> </p><p>He spanked her again and she half giggled, half moaned. His new favorite sound.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s very spankable,” he explained.</p><p> </p><p>“And do you like spanking?” she asked, desire in her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“Get on your knees and find out,” he told her firmly.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Holy fuck</em>,” she breathed out.</p><p> </p><p>She wiggled out of his lap and to his surprise and delight got on her knees on the bed. She was upright and he got out of bed, taking his time to look at her in a way he hadn’t yet gotten to.</p><p> </p><p>“You are so beautiful,” he admired. She blushed and looked at him, all but fluttering her eyelashes. “I want to see all of you.”</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes remained on his as she reached behind her and undid her bra, pulling it down her arms and handed it to him. He tossed it across the room.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s better,” he sighed, taking in her rosebud nipples and the slopes of her breasts.</p><p> </p><p>“What about you?” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“What about me?” he wondered.</p><p> </p><p>“Take it <em>off</em>,” she heckled with a grin.</p><p> </p><p>He chuckled and unbuttoned his shirt, pulling it off. Her giddiness rubbing off on him, he whipped it around his head as she hooted and hollered. He grabbed and pressed a laughing kiss to her lips.</p><p> </p><p>“Stop making me laugh while I’m trying to dom you,” he ordered.</p><p> </p><p>She waved her hand down her face, replacing her smiling one with a frown, though her eyes were still glimmering, “Dominate me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Tits on the bed,” he grinned, because it was no use trying to be serious with her when she was in this sort of mood. Better to just give in. “Ass up.”</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes still had laughter in them, but she did as he said, leaning down and resting her chest on the bed, her back arched and her ass up in the air.</p><p> </p><p>“Look at this gorgeous ass,” he said, smacking it once and grabbing on to it and pressing a kiss to one of the cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry baby,” she said, “I’m a little distracted at the moment.”</p><p> </p><p>He looked at her and then where she was looking and only then did he see that he was hard again. He stroked himself and her breath cracked so he smacked her ass, taking her by surprise.</p><p> </p><p>“You like that?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” she told him, so he smacked it again.</p><p> </p><p>He looked at her ass and he could see his handprint there as sure as if he’d marked her. Not for the first time he felt himself an animal.</p><p> </p><p>He covered the mark with his hand and then moved it down her so that he could trace his finger against her slit. She moved against his finger in surprise or desire and he pushed it inside of her. She was sopping wet and he pushed in another.</p><p> </p><p>“You want it bad, huh?” he teased her, fighting hard to keep the incredulity from his tone.</p><p> </p><p>She was a goddess and she wanted him beyond reason or sense.</p><p> </p><p>She looked at him, her eyes closing in pleasure when he curled his fingers inside of her, and opened them, looking meaningfully at his cock.</p><p> </p><p>“Pot, kettle,” she said and then did that unbelievable laugh-moan when he started pumping his fingers in and out of her.</p><p> </p><p>He’d almost forgotten about his cock and he removed his fingers from her and wrapped them around it, covering his length in her wetness.</p><p> </p><p>She watched as he rubbed his cock, and he placed his other hand under chin and made her look up at him. Her jadeite eyes had turned nearly black and he placed just a little pressure under her chin and she rose up, wrapping her arms around his neck.</p><p> </p><p>He kissed her, getting lost in it, in her. He held her soft body to him, pressing gentle touches everywhere he hadn’t been.</p><p> </p><p>“Tell me what you dreamed about,” he pleaded, kissing her again.</p><p> </p><p>She smiled against his lips and pushed him gently. He stepped backwards and helped her off the bed and she turned them around and pushed him until he was sitting down on it.</p><p> </p><p>She stood in front of him, and he remembered once again how tiny she was, how delicate. He wouldn’t have believed it a moment ago.</p><p> </p><p>He took her slender waist in his hands and kissed her breasts.</p><p> </p><p>She placed her hands on his and he moved them off her waist, letting her lead. She turned around then, and he kissed in between her shoulder blades, the smell of her hair surrounding him.</p><p> </p><p>“I was sitting, in your lap like this,” she explained, “But I don’t…”</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve got you,” he promised, and she leaned back against him.</p><p> </p><p>He held her for a moment, pressing a kiss to her shoulder and then one to her neck. He had no idea how he ended up here tonight and he couldn’t be sorry about it, but he didn’t want to rush it away either.</p><p> </p><p>She leaned her head against his shoulder and looked up at him as he looked down at her. She smiled at him and his mouth twitched before he couldn’t take it and kissed her again.</p><p> </p><p>He wrapped his arm more firmly around her waist, holding her steady and then gripped onto his cock. He pulled her backwards and she let him guide her onto him.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes closed and she sighed as he filled her fully, and his head fell against her temple. She wrapped her arm around the back of his neck, holding him to her, and rocked her hips.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>El</em>,” he whimpered.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes were still closed but she smiled, moving her hips again, gripping his thigh. Her body moved like a wave on his, back and forth in a rotating, slow, gorgeous pattern.</p><p> </p><p>His eyes opened and he realized that her body was on full display from his vantage point, and he let his eyes roam over her, and his hands followed suit. They wandered her thighs and her waist and her breasts. He held onto them as she rolled her body.</p><p> </p><p>“Touch me,” she pleaded, “Like you did the other night.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, you liked that, did you?” he asked in her ear, but his hand was already moving down to obey her. It was clear to him at least who the real boss was.</p><p> </p><p>He stroked the lips of her and then found that perfect little nub at her center and pressed against it. She curled inwards and he stroked and teased her as she moved back and forth on him all the while.</p><p> </p><p>He was talking but he had no idea what he was saying all he knew was that she was agreeing.</p><p> </p><p>She got off of him and turned around and he lifted her by her slender waist so that she could straddle him and then sunk down onto him again. He gripped onto her hips and set the pace, pulling her down onto him again and again.</p><p> </p><p>She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head on his shoulder as their bodies moved against each other.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you close?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” she whimpered. She lifted her head off his shoulder and looked him in the eye, “Come inside me.”</p><p> </p><p>“B-“</p><p> </p><p>“I’m on the pill,” she explained, and her eyes closed and her mouth dropped open, and she let out a moan, “Please.”</p><p> </p><p>“Anything,” he agreed.</p><p> </p><p>And then she was coming and so was he. He buried his face in her neck and gripped onto her tightly as his entire body shuddered. He wasn’t sure the noise he made was entirely human but he didn’t care.</p><p> </p><p>He fell backwards on the bed, pulling Myrcella with him and she was kissing his shoulder and chest and nuzzling against him.</p><p> </p><p>“Remind me to thank Jon for working late,” he said as he rubbed her back. He felt her stiffen and he sighed, “I’m sorry. I didn’t…that’s not what I… sorry.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s okay,” she said but she sat up.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t get off of him though, which he took as a good sign, and he stayed laying down, enjoying the glorious view.</p><p> </p><p>He trailed his fingers over her silky thighs, not having energy to do much else but not being able to stop touching her either.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you think you’ll…,” he started and then thought better of it.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know, you guys said not to think of it as a tit for tat,” she noted.</p><p> </p><p>“No of course not,” he agreed, “You shouldn’t feel any pressure to.”</p><p> </p><p>She let out a cynical laugh, “Easy to say when you’re the one getting laid.”</p><p> </p><p>“Fair point,” he grimaced. “I shouldn’t have asked.”</p><p> </p><p>She shrugged, “This is uncharted territory for all of us. I don’t know how you’re doing it to be honest, either of you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Easily,” he realized, because it truthfully had been, “Since the alternative is losing you or him.”</p><p> </p><p>“The thing is Robb…,” she shook her head and he held onto her waist and sat up so he could look her in the eyes. “I’m fairly certain I’m in love with you.”</p><p> </p><p>His heart exploded in his chest and he felt the sudden urge to cry. On a certain level he knew that already, like them she never would have embarked on this if her feelings weren’t serious and unavoidable. Even still there was nothing like the girl you were in love with telling you she loved you back.</p><p> </p><p>“And him?” he asked though.</p><p> </p><p>A single tear fell out of her eye, and she nodded, “And him.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Chapter 15</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>This was the second time that he took the long way around to avoid the pub and walked towards the dark wine bar. Myrcella had asked him that morning to meet him there and he’d agreed. She must have already said something to Robb because he didn’t say anything to him about seeing him at the pub later that day.</p><p> </p><p>In fact, that morning, Robb hadn’t said hardly anything to him at all.</p><p> </p><p>He suspected that he knew why, both Myrcella wanting to see him on her own and Robb avoiding him until she had. Work had distracted him today, but as soon as he left he felt that gnawing imp inside of him. Jealousy. The thing he’d sworn to himself that he’d leave behind.</p><p> </p><p>He should be able to. Myrcella had given him no reason to complain. She’d been absolutely herself all week and they’d had time to themselves. He’d gotten home late on Tuesday night and her bedroom light had been on so he’d gone inside. She’d told him that she had <em>the most peculiar feeling </em>and had wanted to stay up until he got home. It was eerie, that, for it had not been an easy day at work and would have lead to a sleepless night if he’d crawled into his own bed. As it were she’d pulled him under the covers and underneath her and held onto him until finally he had to sleep, if only so that she would. When they’d woken in the morning he’d kissed her until they couldn’t see straight, and her body moved against his in the most delicious patterns, his name tumbling from her lips like a prayer.</p><p> </p><p>He’d never had this with anyone. What he had with her. Intimacy, he realized. She never put him under any pressure to talk or be anyone different than who he was and the way she looked at him sometimes.</p><p> </p><p>So really, he had nothing to be jealous of. And yet he couldn’t help but feel like they’d entered into a room and locked the door behind them.</p><p> </p><p>He walked into the wine door and greeted the hostess, looking around for Myrcella, but she wasn’t there yet. She recognized him, the place really wasn’t used to people his age, and gestured back to the couch they’d sat on last week.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe somewhere away from the window?” he asked and the hostess smiled knowingly and brought him back through the small space.</p><p> </p><p>She brought him around a corner to a love seat that was all but on its own, with dim lights and a small table in front of it. He thanked her and she promised to send Myrcella back when she arrived, so he took off his coat and sat down.</p><p> </p><p>He left his work phone in his pocket, not wanting anything happening there to cloud his emotions but he pulled out his personal to see if he’d had any texts. He’d gotten a fair bit of teasing when he’d told the guys he wouldn’t be joining them, and he only hoped Myrcella had made a decent excuse for her absence or it wouldn’t be long until they were suspected.</p><p> </p><p>A part of him, the small part of him, craved that. People suspecting them, forcing their hand. It wasn’t that he wanted to push Robb out of the equation but never in his life did he think he’d get someone like Myrcella Baratheon. The golden girl, the one everyone adored.</p><p> </p><p>And no one would ever know that she was his.</p><p> </p><p>He was ashamed of himself for the thought. He wasn’t usually so prideful. But nothing, in his life, had ever made him prouder than Myrcella Baratheon wanting him.</p><p> </p><p>“Is that seat taken?” a sweet voice asked, and he looked up.</p><p> </p><p>She was beautiful, holding her jacket in the crook of her arm she was wearing a cream silk top with a complicated bow at the collar and a skirt that flared out stopping a few inches above her knee.</p><p> </p><p>He stood up and reached for her as she reached for him, and she pressed a kiss to his cheek. He cupped hers with his hand, holding her to him.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re frozen through,” he told her.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re warm,” she giggled, nuzzling against his cheek.</p><p> </p><p>He took her coat from her and laid it over his and they settled onto the seat. She crossed her legs towards him and he held her hands in his, rubbing them back and forth until he felt them start to warm.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks for meeting me,” she smiled, “I’m sorry to deprive you of two Friday nights.”</p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t help but smile, “This may come as a shock to you but deprived is not how I feel in your company.”</p><p> </p><p>She let out a faux gasp so he did too, eliciting that gorgeous giggle that he always managed to draw from her when he teased.</p><p> </p><p>“So,” she looked around, settling back against the love seat, “Is this to be our spot, then? The staff knows us already. They’re sending over another bottle of whatever we drank last week.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want us to have a spot?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>She smiled, “This whole city is full of them, already, to be honest. I can hardly walk two feet without thinking of you… or Robb. Though perhaps that’s less to do with the places and more to do with me.”</p><p> </p><p><em>You occupy my mind</em>, he could tell her.</p><p> </p><p>And he realized that he actually could. That maybe she’d want to know.</p><p> </p><p>“You occupy my mind,” he said, the words feeling foreign in his mouth.</p><p> </p><p>It seemed the right thing to say when her face broke into a smile and she leaned forward and touched her lips to his. They’d never kissed in public, if this could even be considered that, and he felt that rumbling in his chest, thunder rolling in, as he deepened the kiss just slightly.</p><p> </p><p>The server appeared a moment later and opened the bottle quickly, pouring them each a glass and setting it on the table with promises of leaving them on their own. Perhaps this had to be their place, then.</p><p> </p><p>They each took their glass of wine and sipped and he reached out and placed his hand on her slender, tights-clad knee.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon,” she said, “There’s something you ought to know.”</p><p> </p><p>He squeezed her knee and released it and ripped the band-aid off for her, “You slept with Robb.”</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes went wide, and she nodded, “Yes but… that’s not what I was going to say. Do you want to talk about that?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not much,” he admitted. Clearing his throat, “But… did it change things?”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course it did,” she reasoned, “But not the way I feel about you. But if it changes things for you, I understand.”</p><p> </p><p>“It didn’t make you feel like you should just be with him?” he had to clarify.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” she shook her head, “In fact it made me realize I’m in love with you. And him too. I had known from the start that I loved you both. From the very first moment we met it’s like you were etched already on my heart. But I realized that there’s a difference, between loving and being in love. And I am in love, with you.”</p><p> </p><p>“And him,” he repeated.</p><p> </p><p>“And him,” she half smiled. “I’m sorry it’s just for all your differences, he reacted much the same.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” he nodded, because of course he had. “Was he nice to you? During, I mean.”</p><p> </p><p>Even in the dim lighting of the bar he could see the flush on her cheeks and there it was again, that jealousy. Like he was banging on the door, dying to be let in.</p><p> </p><p>“Not particularly,” she joked and then grimaced. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean that, he was lovely. It’s just that what me and him have is different to what you and I do.”</p><p> </p><p>“What do you and he have?” he asked, though he’d seen it.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella controlled Robb’s every mood, every action, but Robb had a power over her too. He’d seen it when they’d been together in Robb’s bedroom. The command he’d given her and Myrcella’s readiness to obey. It was thrilling to watch, in an odd way, a dynamic he couldn’t quite look away from.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you really want to talk about this?” she asked, and he nodded. “Then be patient, please. I’ve never spoken about any of it and I can’t guarantee I’ll get it right at first.” He nodded again so she sighed, “I told you last week that Robb lacked restraint, and that’s true to a point. But he also withers mine. There’s something… that he releases in me, I won’t deny it. I don’t know what it is, just that it’s something wild, and I release it in him too.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” he agreed, because he’d seen it with his own eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“But that doesn’t mean I want him more,” she answered the question he hadn’t dared ask.</p><p> </p><p>“Doesn’t it?” he prodded. “I don’t release that in you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Is all desire the same?” she asked. “Or love for that matter? What we have, or I guess I should say what I feel for you, isn’t <em>less</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“What is it then?” he asked, “How is it different?”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>He wasn’t being fair to her, and yet, he wasn’t sure that he was in the wrong either. He had a right to know if he was the piece being dragged along behind.</p><p> </p><p>She covered his hand with hers and told him, “What we have is quieter.”</p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure you don’t mean boring?” he smirked.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Yes </em>I’m sure,” she seethed, snatching her hand away from him as though he’d scalded her. He could see the angry flush of pink on her cheeks. “How can you even… what I feel for you is… it’s something I’ve never felt for anyone. I don’t even know how to describe it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Try,” he said more gently.</p><p> </p><p>She looked at him and folded her hands in her lap, he could see her mind working a million miles a minute as she sat perfectly still.</p><p> </p><p>Finally she said, “I had this recurring dream when I was a child…” she shook her head, “I can’t believe I’m telling you this.”</p><p> </p><p>“Go on,” he pleaded, covering her hands in his.</p><p> </p><p>She looked at his hands on top of hers and said, “Well… In it I would be laying on a couch by the fire, minutes from sleep, and I’d just feel someone settling this blanket around me. That’s it,” she smiled sadly, shrugging, “That’s the whole dream. But I can still feel it.” Her eyes went somewhere else and her voice was thick, “The softness of the couch, and the warmth of the fire… and the…” her lip started trembling, she shook her head, her face crumbling and he squeezed her hands. She took a deep shaky breath, “The feeling of that blanket coming around me…”</p><p> </p><p>“What did it feel like?” he wondered.</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t know,” she admitted, releasing one of her hands so that she could swipe the tears off her cheeks. “I’d never felt it in real life. Not until I met you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Me?” he couldn’t quite believe it. “What was it?”</p><p> </p><p>She looked at him, “Safety. Not just that you’d protect me, but that you’d protect my heart, and all the other soft, vulnerable things about me. That you… cherished them, me. That you see them, and don’t want to use that to your advantage… you want to keep them safe and warm.”</p><p> </p><p>“Those soft, vulnerable things,” he admitted, “Are the only beautiful, pure things in my life.”</p><p> </p><p>“So you see?” she asked. “It may be quieter. But it’s my dream. And I won’t have you belittle it.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry,” he told her genuinely.</p><p> </p><p>“I won’t deny that when he kisses me I feel as though I might burst into flames,” she told him, “But when <em>you </em>kiss me – it’s like I could take flight. So, don’t you see? It’s magic, just the same.”</p><p> </p><p>It was insulting, he realized then. His doubt. He’d been so angry with her on Sunday for telling him that her problems were not his. And then he’d gone and told her that what she felt for him wasn’t enough, that it was lacking somehow, even though it was clear, even though she made it clear, how entirely it had altered her.</p><p> </p><p>And when he really thought about it, even with her loving Robb too, Jon had never known love like this. Never known what it felt like to be loved so entirely for himself.</p><p> </p><p>"I’m sorry,” he repeated, taking her hands in his and pressing a kiss to the back of them. “I think you make me greedy in a way that nothing and no one ever has. Because I am so in love with you, and it’s in my nature to feel like I’m not quite enough.”</p><p> </p><p>“And my loving Robb too can’t help with that,” she reasoned gently. She shook her head, “I don’t know what I can say to make you believe me, but what I feel for him doesn’t diminish what I feel for you. I don’t blame you for not understanding it, to be honest, I had no idea my heart had such capacity. But it does, and there is room, more than enough room, for both of you. Only you can decide though if you’re truly able to share it.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’d rather have a piece of your heart than the entirety of anyone else’s,” he assured her. Assured himself too.</p><p> </p><p>She smiled a tearful smile and leaned forward and kissed him. A real kiss this time, not just the press of lips, and he felt her bloom in his hands.</p><p> </p><p>When they parted he decided to change the subject. So they sipped their wine and discussed a hundred different little things, nothing of very much consequence.</p><p> </p><p>When they’d finished the bottle he asked her if she wanted to go to the pub but she shook her head and asked him to walk her home.</p><p> </p><p>She hooked her arm through his as they walked and laid her head against his arm, in the silence they’d always been comfortable in together.</p><p> </p><p>A quietness, just like she said.</p><p> </p><p>They walked upstairs and greeted the dogs and he walked her to her room.</p><p> </p><p>“I should take them around the block,” he noted.</p><p> </p><p>She nodded and leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his lips.</p><p> </p><p>“Come back, when you’re done,” she said with a small smile, “If you want to.”</p><p> </p><p>With that she closed to the door and he rushed the dogs out of the apartment. He gave them a nice little walk, making sure they both did their business and then checked that they had enough food and water.</p><p> </p><p>And then he went into the bathroom and washed his hands and brushed his teeth and rubbed cold water on his face.</p><p> </p><p>He knocked on her bedroom door and heard her call <em>Come in.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>Jon opened the door and his heart stopped. An older Sigur Ros album was playing and the overhead light was off, just her dimming bedside lamp was on, casting her in a warm glow.</p><p> </p><p>And she was lying there, on her stomach, her arm tucked under her pillow, entirely naked.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi you,” she smiled.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi you,” he managed.</p><p> </p><p>She lifted her head off the pillow, supporting herself on her arms, her knees bent and her feet dangling.</p><p> </p><p>Her smile was soft, “Come to bed.”</p><p> </p><p>“In a minute,” he agreed.</p><p> </p><p>His eyes roamed over every inch of smooth skin. The curves and angles of her. Her golden hair resting against her spine, the pale pink of the bottoms of her feet.</p><p> </p><p>She leaned her cheek on her pillow as she let him have his look, closing her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>As though she felt perfectly safe.</p><p> </p><p>He walked over to the bed and climbed on, feeling too big. He reached his hand out and touched his fingers to her back. It was warm silk.</p><p> </p><p>He glanced at her face, her eyes were still closed but there was a small smile on her lips. He moved his fingers over her and his palm.</p><p> </p><p>She’d been right, so right. He craved her like this, her softness, her trust. He couldn’t punish her for giving a different part of herself to Robb when this is the part he’d never sacrifice. He may want it all, but this was what he needed. So unlike anything he’d ever had.</p><p> </p><p>She shivered and he pulled her closer, lying on the bed and pulling her on top of him.</p><p> </p><p>She nuzzled her nose against his and then kissed him and he kissed her back, sinking into it the way they always seemed to. He wrapped his arms around her and she pressed against him.</p><p> </p><p>Slippery tongues and wandering lips and scattered breaths.</p><p> </p><p>He cupped her cheek and stroked the bone of it with his thumb, “We don’t have to do this, just because you and Robb…”</p><p> </p><p>“Touch me,” she whispered against his lips, “And tell me that I don’t want you.”</p><p> </p><p>He kissed her again and rolled her so she was on her back. He propped himself up and let himself touch her in all the places he wanted to.</p><p> </p><p>He cupped her breast, his thumb swiping across a peaked nipple. He looked down at her flushed chest and up to her bright eyes and moved his hand down her body. Past her flat stomach and then eager, hesitant fingers reached her core.</p><p> </p><p>A mist went over her eyes and their breath caught as he touched her. There was no denying it, she wanted him, and there was not an ounce of duty in it.</p><p> </p><p>He explored her with his fingers, her soft, wet folds and kissed her chest, the perfect swells of her breasts. He took her nipple in his mouth and her legs parted even further, opening like the flower she was.</p><p> </p><p>Exposed, vulnerable, and his.</p><p> </p><p>His thumb pressed against her center and she gasped, and he took more of her breast in his mouth. He felt her hands in his hair, pulling it out of the knot and stroking her fingers through it.</p><p> </p><p>He kissed her breastbone and her ribs and her belly button.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon,” she giggled lazily.</p><p> </p><p>“Get comfortable, baby,” he said against her stomach.</p><p> </p><p>He moved further down and lifted her leg and moving in between them, her leg lowering and resting on his back. She was perfect up close, and he felt Myrcella rest her other leg on his back as well as his hands grasped her thighs and separated them further.</p><p> </p><p>He licked her dew from her and groaned, she was even sweeter than he could possibly imagine. He covered her with his mouth. His lips and tongue exploring her.</p><p> </p><p>He felt her react to him immediately and he spared a glance up at her and found her back arched, her head thrown back.</p><p> </p><p>He buried his face in her then and she whimpered and he growled when he felt her moving against his mouth.</p><p> </p><p>His hands moved up her hips to her waist and he pulled it as he rolled backwards until she was on top of him. She sat up, kneeling and he pulled her hips against him.</p><p> </p><p>Her entire body shuddered and he urged her to keep going, not knowing anything more intoxicating than being surrounded by her entirely.</p><p> </p><p>She started to rock her hips, riding his lips and tongue. And then her movements turned erratic and he held tightly to her, feeling how close she was, and then her body spasmed, her hips rocking on their own accord as she orgasmed against him.</p><p> </p><p>She got off him and fell back onto the bed. And Jon lay there, his ears ringing.</p><p> </p><p>He wiped his face and turned around so he could hover above her. Her eyes were closed, and she had the dopiest smile on her face.</p><p> </p><p>It contorted in disbelief, “How…”</p><p> </p><p>He chuckled and kissed her lips, hoping she wouldn’t mind the taste of herself. She kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling up his shirt.</p><p> </p><p>He got up on his knees and pulled off his t shirt. Her eyes raked over him and she sat up, getting on her knees too.</p><p> </p><p>Her fingers touched his chest and his abs, her eyes flicking to his briefly before her lips followed her fingers. He buried his fingers in her soft golden hair as her lips traveled his body.</p><p> </p><p>Her fingers moved down his abs and then lower and she cupped him through his pants. His head fell against her shoulder and she rubbed him more firmly.</p><p> </p><p>He lowered one of his hands out of her hair and brought it to his belt buckle, undoing it. She looked up at him with cloudy, wanting eyes and he unzipped his pants and pulled them off, his boxers following behind.</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t have to ask her if she was sure because she lay down on the bed and reached out for him. The only thing to do was take her hand and he settled himself in between her legs.</p><p> </p><p>He positioned himself at her entrance and pushed inside of her slowly.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Oh</em>,” she sighed in apparent delight and he thrusted his hips forward to be more fully inside of her.</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella,” he all but whimpered.</p><p> </p><p>Her thighs were up around his waist and she wrapped an arm around his back and her other hand carded into his hair. He held onto her thigh and thrust again in slow, long strokes, rolling his hips so that he could feel every last curve of her.</p><p> </p><p>They both let out a breath each time he thrust and he felt it. Exactly what she’d been talking about.</p><p> </p><p>The way she held him. She’d keep him safe too. This part of him.</p><p> </p><p>“I love you,” he exulted, as their bodies moved together. “Gods I love you.”</p><p> </p><p>She held onto him for dear life and when they came, they came together.</p><p> </p><p>And Jon remembered that some fires caused explosions, and others warmed an entire home.</p>
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<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Chapter 16</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>On her last evening of her twenty-fifth year, Myrcella walked towards the pub that had long since become her usual. It was a Friday, and though it was after four pm, there was still a scrape of light. Giving her hope of spring, and a new year ahead.</p><p> </p><p>That hope was slightly thwarted by the bitter cold, and she pulled her coat more tightly around her as she passed by all the familiar shops.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Myrcella</em>,” a voice she hadn’t heard in weeks and yet remained etched in her mind cut into her thoughts.</p><p> </p><p>There he was, as though he’d been waiting for her.</p><p> </p><p>“You need to stay away from me,” she warned, not slowing her pace.</p><p> </p><p>He fell into step beside her and her skin crawled, and she wondered absently if it was apparent to everyone on the street. In a block she’d be at the pub. In a block she’d be with Robb and Jon.</p><p> </p><p>She considered taking the long way around.</p><p> </p><p>“But don’t you want your birthday present?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>She tripped slightly and then his hand was on her arm, steadying her.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” she said, her manners overriding her better judgment for a brief moment. It recalibrated quickly and she shook her arm out of his grasp, “I mean it, Ramsay. You need to leave me alone. Or this will end very poorly for you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, sweet Myrcella,” he grinned, that disturbed glee that she dreamed of any night she slept alone. “It’s so kind of you to be concerned about me.”</p><p> </p><p>She stepped away from him, her stomach churning with that old familiar worry. That perhaps she had encouraged him. That the mere fact that she didn’t gut him where he stood suggested she cared for him at all.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella turned away and started walking faster.</p><p> </p><p><em>“Don’t worry, darling, I’ll give you your present another time!” </em>he called behind her and she quickened her pace.</p><p> </p><p>She could see the pub and her eyes smarted as she walked even faster. The closer she got the more afraid she was that he would snatch her. It seemed impossible that only moments earlier she had considered prolonging her route.</p><p> </p><p>Someone was exiting the pub as she neared the door and they held the door open for her and she turned right towards the room where her friends always gathered.</p><p> </p><p><em>“SURPRISE!!”</em> erupted from all corners of the room.</p><p> </p><p>She took a step backwards and would have probably fallen if Tormund hadn’t run over and picked her up in a bear hug.</p><p> </p><p>“Happy birthday, gorgeous!” he said as he jumped up and down with her.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” she let out a nervous laugh, holding onto him a second longer to steady herself.</p><p> </p><p>Theon and Ros came next, and she accepted Theon’s kiss to her cheek as Ros hugged her.</p><p> </p><p>“Happy almost-birthday, darling!” Ros exulted.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” she repeated, making sure to look them both in the eye as she smiled.</p><p> </p><p>Jeyne came next, and then Edd and Grenn.</p><p> </p><p>“You are going to make twenty-five look <em>so </em>good,” Gilly told her.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella smiled and hugged her, “Not as good as you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Happy Birthday, Myrcella,” Sam said.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella smiled at him but Gilly said, “<em>Almost </em>birthday. I tried to get everyone to come to ours tomorrow to celebrate on the <em>actual </em>day, but those boors you live with vetoed. They said they’re taking you out just you three?”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella nodded, “Yes, they insisted. No one should be making such a fuss.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh you deserve all the fuss and you know it,” Sam teased.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella laughed and looked around, “Are they here? I um… need… them.”</p><p> </p><p>Gilly gave her a curious look but nodded, “They’re at the bar. We’ll give you a minute?”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella thanked her and walked by them. Now that she was past the small crowd she saw that they were standing in the corner of the bar, watching as everyone greeted her.</p><p> </p><p>She closed the distance between them quickly. Jon got to her first and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, kissing her temple. Robb crowded in next with an arm around her waist and a kiss to her cheek.</p><p> </p><p>“El, you’re shaking,” Robb realized.</p><p> </p><p>They both backed away from her slightly, looking down at her and she shook her head.</p><p> </p><p>“Ramsay was just…” she started, taking big gulps of air, “He wanted to give me a <em>birthday present</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“He’s outside?” Jon asked, moving to go towards the door.</p><p> </p><p>She gripped onto his wrist and though it couldn’t have hurt him he looked at her as though she’d branded him, stopping dead in his tracks.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t,” she pleaded, “Don’t leave. Me.”</p><p> </p><p>The pair of them shared a glance and then Robb’s hand guided her towards the stool and she sat down and they blocked her from the rest of the pub.</p><p> </p><p>“We can go home,” Robb said. “Just tell everyone you aren’t feeling well.”</p><p> </p><p>“No, no,” she argued, “I want us to have a lovely time I just… need a minute.”</p><p> </p><p>“Take more than a minute,” Jon assured her.</p><p> </p><p>She took a deep breath, “I like the balloons.”</p><p> </p><p>“Gilly and Ros decorated,” Robb told her.</p><p> </p><p>“That was sweet,” she said and then shook her head, “I’m such an idiot. I actually… I think I fooled myself into thinking it was over.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then I’m an idiot too,” Robb said, “I didn’t realize it until this moment, but I had convinced myself it was too.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon said nothing unsurprisingly. He knew too much of the world, a world that her and Robb had only ever gotten a glimpse at.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re going to have to report this,” Myrcella realized. “Do we have to go to the station?”</p><p> </p><p>Jon shook his head, “I’ll call the chief. How close did he get?”</p><p> </p><p>“He grabbed my arm,” she said and suddenly two wolves were standing in front of her. She corrected herself, “I tripped, and he caught my arm.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh <em>noooo, </em>no way you are hogging her tomorrow <em>and </em>tonight!” Ros cut in.</p><p> </p><p>Both Robb and Jon looked at Ros as though they’d entirely forgotten they were in public. They looked back at her and she nodded, standing up and pasting a smile on her face.</p><p> </p><p>“I hear <em>you</em> are to thank for my balloons,” she cooed.</p><p> </p><p>“And Gilly! Do you like them?” Ros asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I love them, I think I’ll tie one around my wrist and keep it with me always,” she told her.</p><p> </p><p>She let Ros pull her away from Robb and Jon. It helped actually, to be away from them. There was no one else here she ever wanted to know about Ramsay, and it was easier that they didn’t. Still though, she kept an eye out for them, wanting to make sure they didn’t leave in pursuit.</p><p> </p><p>Someone got her a drink and music started playing. They hadn’t rented out the whole bar thankfully, but this side was packed with friends and friends-of-friends. She was hugged by more people than she’d met her whole time in the north.</p><p> </p><p>She danced with Ros and Gilly, Jeyne. Tormund challenged her to a dance-off but she used Grenn as a human shield, who reluctantly did the robot. They’d invited a few girlfriends of hers from work who had come for a cursory drink and left when it was clear this crowd was in it for the long haul.</p><p> </p><p>She excused herself at one point to go to the Ladies Room and when she finished washing her hands, she pressed her cold, wet hand to the back of her neck. Shivering in delight as water trickled down her back.</p><p> </p><p>The door to the bathroom opened and she glanced to her right. It was Roslin, wearing a tight black dress and a smirk.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi,” Myrcella greeted her, “A bit wild out there.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Roslin agreed, “Well everyone is very fond of you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Lucky me,” she said.</p><p> </p><p>She’d tried at first to be friends with Roslin. It was preferable, considering she was always around. Though in truth Jon called her the Roslin Cure, as about a week after she moved in, Roslin stopped knocking on their door.</p><p> </p><p>There was no real reason for animosity between them, it was only just that in spite of everyone’s continued assurance that she was nice, Myrcella had never actually gotten to see it for herself.</p><p> </p><p>Her run in with Ramsay had withered any patience for cattiness so she moved towards the door.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course,” Roslin noted as she was about to walk by, “They don’t know they’re celebrating a whore.”</p><p> </p><p>“Something tells me Theon would be <em>more </em>inclined to celebrate me if he did,” she shot back, not giving Roslin the gratification of asking what she meant.</p><p> </p><p>That didn’t stop Roslin from telling her anyway. The way she’d clearly planned on doing.</p><p> </p><p>“My bedroom is right below Robb’s,” she stated. Myrcella kept her face blank. “I can hear the two of you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” Myrcella said, “Let us know if you have any requests.”</p><p> </p><p>She grabbed the door handle but Roslin slammed it shut. Annoyance. That, to her surprise, was what she felt most. In the back of her mind, she knew that she should be ashamed, afraid, but she wasn’t.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella removed her hand from the door and waited. If she hadn’t screamed bloody murder at the sight of Ramsay she was hardly likely to show any fear to Roslin.</p><p> </p><p>“You think you’re so <em>superior</em>,” Roslin seethed.</p><p> </p><p>“Not usually,” Myrcella noted, “But I do take comfort in not being the sort to go around cornering other women and calling them whores.”</p><p> </p><p>“Jeyne <em>saw </em>you,” Roslin seethed. “She <em>saw </em>you.” Myrcella raised a brow. “With Jon. She saw you kissing him, don’t deny it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why would I deny it?” Myrcella asked.</p><p> </p><p>It was almost comical watching Roslin try to speak as her head exploded.</p><p> </p><p>“Bec-because you’re <em>fucking </em>Robb too,” Roslin explained. Myrcella looked her in the eye. “I’m going to tell him.”</p><p> </p><p>“Who?” Myrcella asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Robb!” Roslin exclaimed.</p><p> </p><p>“Ah,” she nodded. “I suspected he was the reason you’ve always disliked me… You must have regretted it, huh? Sleeping with Theon. You must have thought that was the reason that Robb never wanted you.”</p><p> </p><p>It was unlike her to be so nasty, but if there was one thing Myrcella had never been able to stomach it was hypocrisy.</p><p> </p><p>And she knew, she knew in the back of her mind that if she hadn’t run into Ramsay she might have handled this differently. She might have explained, or demurred, she may have even lied.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m going to tell him,” Roslin said again. “I’m going to tell him what you did.”</p><p> </p><p>“Be my guest,” Myrcella said, taking the opportunity and opening the door, gesturing outside. When Roslin made no move to go, she asked, “Shall I get him?”</p><p> </p><p>Roslin’s eyes narrowed, “You’re bluffing.”</p><p> </p><p>“Am I?” Myrcella asked. She let the door go and asked, “Did you try for Jon, too? No. You’re not the type, are you? He’s too quiet, not as gregarious as Robb. Oh honey,” Myrcella couldn’t help but smile, “You don’t know what you’re missing.”</p><p> </p><p>“They deserve better than you,” Roslin all but spat at her.</p><p> </p><p> “I couldn’t agree with you more,” Myrcella indulged her, “But I’m the one they want.”</p><p> </p><p>Roslin blinked, “You’re actually… with both of them?” Myrcella smiled. “That’s <em>sick</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>This was playing out exactly how Myrcella had always imagined it might. It was a blessing that it was Roslin who had figured it out. She wasn’t sure she could handle Gilly calling her sick.</p><p> </p><p>Because Gilly would mean it.</p><p> </p><p>Roslin on the other hand was so jealous she was practically salivating.</p><p> </p><p>So she asked the question she’d been dying to ask someone, “What would you do? If it was you. If it was them. If it was Jon and Robb, and they both loved you? Would you break one of their hearts, and yours too? You know how they love each other, would you have torn them apart? Would you walk away? Turn your back on them both?” Roslin stayed silent and this suddenly felt good. The only people she could talk to about this was Jon and Robb, and they could only hear how much she loved them so many times. “Tell me. Would you have done so? Or… would you let yourself be loved? Truly, wholly, entirely and without condition? Even if it didn’t seem natural to anyone else. Even if the whole world called you names and spoke snidely behind your back. Cornered you in bathrooms and called you a whore. Wouldn’t that be a small price to pay? Wouldn’t it be worth it, to love them and be loved by them in return?”</p><p> </p><p>Roslin was silent for a moment and then said, “Everyone will be on my side.”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe,” Myrcella allowed. “But Jon and Robb will be on mine. <em>Always</em>. And they’re protective beasts. Enjoy your evening.”</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t wait for Roslin to respond, she just walked out of the bathroom. There was a hip-hop song playing from high school and she danced her way through her friends, heading to the bar.</p><p> </p><p>Daario was bartending and he grinned at her, “The birthday girl.”</p><p> </p><p>“Almost, anyway,” she agreed. “Got any whiskey back there?”</p><p> </p><p>“Forgoing your beloved gin?” he asked as he grabbed one of the top shelf whiskeys and poured her a shot.</p><p> </p><p>She shrugged, “If you can’t slay the dragon, you might as well breathe fire, right?”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded as though it was a good point, though he may have thought she was crazy. She felt two shadows behind her, closing in.</p><p> </p><p>It was Jon and Robb, her champions to left and right.</p><p> </p><p>“Two more, please,” she said to Daario.</p><p> </p><p>He was very good at his job so he had already been reaching for the shot glasses. He filled them quickly and placed all three down in front of them.</p><p> </p><p>“On the house,” he said and then pointed at Jon and Robb, “<em>Hers</em>, of course.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course,” Robb agreed, picking his up.</p><p> </p><p>Jon did as well and she took hers. Daario walked away to help someone else and Jon and Robb both turned to look at her.</p><p> </p><p>“Roslin knows,” she informed them, and then threw back the shot.</p><p> </p><p>Jon and Robb had both raised their glasses to their lips and then looked at her and each other before slowly knocking them back.</p><p> </p><p>“Should I talk to her?” Jon asked.</p><p> </p><p>She giggled, leaning her head against Robb’s bicep, “Don’t think that’d help, baby.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb wrapped his arm around her shoulders, signaling to Daario for another round.</p><p> </p><p>“You alright?” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Actually yes,” she smiled.</p><p> </p><p>Jon smirked, “How’d she take it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well Jon,” she said solemnly, leaning forward and placing her hand on his shoulder and gripping it, “I think the phrase I ought to look for is <em>not fucking well</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb chuckled, wrapping his arm around her neck and pulling her towards him and kissing her hair.</p><p> </p><p>Daario placed three more shots down and they each picked them up.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you cross with me?” she wondered, “It wasn’t just my secret to tell.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon and Robb looked at her and each other and then back at her and then shook their heads.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m just pissed I didn’t witness it,” Jon said. “I’ve never seen you with your claws out.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ohhh well we can change that,” she informed him with a wink.</p><p> </p><p>Robb chuckled, “You cannot be this way from one shot.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s the adrenaline,” she realized, closing her eyes and smiling, feeling like champagne bubbles were popping in her veins. “I feel… <em>good</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“You look good,” Robb informed her.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Really</em> good,” Jon agreed.</p><p> </p><p>She opened her eyes and her mouth went dry from the way they were both staring at her. It was funny, she had expected that someone else knowing would truly her convince her how wrong this all was. But in the end, all she felt was free.</p><p> </p><p>“Tomorrow night,” she said, “You’re still taking me out right?” They nodded. “Good,” she smiled. “Because I want to celebrate… with both of you.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Chapter 17</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This is a long one...</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Robb straightened his tie and walked out of his bedroom. Jon was already in the living room, dressed in his suit, his hair pulled back into a top knot and wearing the glasses that made Myrcella clench her thighs.  </p><p> </p><p>“Cheap shot,” Robb grinned.</p><p> </p><p>Jon shrugged, a smirk on his face, “It’s her birthday. Got to give her what she wants.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon was seated in his armchair, so Robb took a seat on the couch. Neither Ghost nor Grey Wind were in the living room, which was unsurprising. They were always with Myrcella, and were probably sitting happily on her bed as she got ready, asking their opinions every so often in a way that made them feel very important.</p><p> </p><p>He hadn’t seen much of Jon today, or Myrcella for that matter. Jon had to work and Myrcella had taken herself shopping. Robb had been filled with such a manic energy and so little to do that he’d taken the dogs for a walk and then himself for a run and then to the gym. He’d cleaned his room and moved some money around and threw out a bunch of stuff in the freezer.</p><p> </p><p>He’d expected to be a bit hungover, but he wasn’t. The party had gone late the night before, they and their friends had stayed out drinking and dancing for hours. Myrcella had recovered from her run-ins and had been in a truly glorious mood, and it encouraged all of them to be as well.</p><p> </p><p>Roslin had left early, seemingly without a word to anyone. He’d seen her when she came out of the bathroom, he was still standing at the bar with just Jon and Myrcella. Neither of them seemed to notice her, they were laughing at something, but Robb’s eyes met hers across the party. Though there was no way he’d be able to hear anything, she opened her mouth as though she might say something to him. So he’d draped one arm around Jon, the other around Myrcella, pressing a kiss to her temple. Roslin left without another glance and none of them spared her another thought for the rest of the night.</p><p> </p><p>The same could not be said for Ramsay. He and Jon had spoken about it, and he knew that like him, even amidst the dancing and laughing and drinking, it was still there, in the back of his mind. When they’d said their goodnights to everyone Myrcella had hopped on his back and he’d carried her home. Jon had been trailing behind slightly, keeping an eye out for Ramsay, he’d later realized.</p><p> </p><p>Though retreating clearly wasn’t in Ramsay’s nature, neither did Robb think that he had so much a death wish that he’d think to approach her when she was with both of them.</p><p> </p><p>When they’d gotten home, Jon had made them all grilled cheeses and they’d been too silly and drunk to do anything more than share some sloppy kisses. They’d parted with <em>love yous </em>and <em>sleep tights </em>and all left to sleep in their own beds. He’d seen Myrcella that morning but other than a long, lingering <em>happy birthday </em>kiss he’d hardly spoken to her and even less to Jon.</p><p> </p><p>“So,” Robb glanced at her closed door, “Should we talk about…”</p><p> </p><p>“Ground rules?” Jon asked.</p><p> </p><p>Robb nodded and chuckled, “I sort of wish I’d taken Theon up on it in uni just so I’d know what to expect.”</p><p> </p><p>“I probably wouldn’t do this with you if you had,” Jon joked and they both laughed nervously.</p><p> </p><p>The truth was, he was excited. Every moment he got to spend with Myrcella in bed was exciting, she was incredible – surprising, passionate, and could go from laughing to moaning to staring lovingly into his eyes in the span of seconds. She was the best sex of his life, they had spontaneity and intimacy and an unlimited desire for the other.</p><p> </p><p>Even still, he’d never been able to get that first afternoon out of his head. Her between the two of them, painfully feminine, Jon’s desire for her egging on his own.</p><p> </p><p>He wasn’t really sure that Jon would want to know that though.</p><p> </p><p>There was also a part of him that wanted to know what they were like together. It was hard not to think about it, on the nights he spent in his room alone while they were behind closed doors.</p><p> </p><p>“Is it weird to say I’m not really worried about it?” Jon asked. “I keep expecting to be but uh, it’s you. And it’s her. So, I don’t know, man. We can set ground rules if you want but I’m sort of thinking it’s going to work itself out.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Robb agreed. Then thought about it, “You just can’t punch me when I get rough with her.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon’s eyes wandered over his face and shook his head once, “As long as she’s having fun I won’t.”</p><p> </p><p>“Dude,” Robb chided.</p><p> </p><p>Jon agreed, “Yeah, sorry. I know you’d <em>never</em> hurt her. And uh to be honest… always sounds like she enjoys it.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb felt his cheeks flush and he realized that he wasn’t the only one who’d lay awake at night, wondering what was going on in the next room. For some reason that thought excited him too.</p><p> </p><p>Before they had a chance to discuss anything else, the door to Myrcella’s room opened. He and Jon both stood as she stepped into the living room, though in truth he was surprised they’d found the strength.</p><p> </p><p>She was a vision. There was no other word for it. The girl was breathtaking in sweatpants but she looked like an old movie star now, alluring and devastating. Her golden hair fell in large, elegant waves and her lips had been stained burgundy. She wore a black silk dress with a straight neck and slender straps that had a small bow resting on each shoulder. It was fitted through her impossibly tiny waist and then flared out dramatically.</p><p> </p><p>They were both silent as they took her in, and she twisted this way and that, her dress swishing around her legs.</p><p> </p><p>“I thought twenty-five deserved a new dress,” she smiled.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re stunning,” he managed to tell her.</p><p> </p><p>She blushed, “Thank you. You both look so handsome.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon was still entirely silent and Myrcella stepped forward towards him. He was closer to her and he stepped towards her too. She reached up and straightened his tie, their eyes looking into one another’s.</p><p> </p><p>His friend, always so much quieter than he, had proved his point. She’d stunned him into silence. But Jon and Myrcella never seemed to really need words, and Jon took her hand in his and pressed a kiss to her wrist.</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t the first time he’d seen him do it. When Myrcella would touch his cheek his lips would fall to her wrist as if on their own accord. When they sat on the love seat he’d lift her wrist to his lips and press a solemn kiss that would have her snuggling into him. It was disarming, every time he saw it, and when he did something churned in his stomach that couldn’t be called jealousy, but he didn’t have a name for.</p><p> </p><p>She squeezed Jon’s arm and then moved towards him. Robb closed the distance and placed his hand on her neck, his thumb pushing her chin backwards so he could press a kiss to the smooth column, not wanting to muss her too much. She held onto his arm and pressed against him slightly before stepping away.</p><p> </p><p>She smoothed her dress and looked at them, “You’re both sure?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” he and Jon agreed in tandem.</p><p> </p><p>A small smile appeared on her face, “Okay then. Did I hear you guys making rules?”</p><p> </p><p>“We decided we didn’t need them,” Jon told her, seemingly recovered.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella nodded, “Well I just have one. Robb already knows it though, don’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>Jon looked at him and Robb grimaced, “No anal.”</p><p> </p><p>“You tried to –,” Jon started.</p><p> </p><p>“No!” Robb held his hands up, “I… tried to use my finger to see if she’d like it.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella turned to Jon solemnly, “I did not.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon let out a surprised chuckled, “No, huh?”</p><p> </p><p>Robb winced at the memory, “Nearly broke my dick getting off of me.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella apologized for the thousandth time and so did he and Jon was now openly laughing at both of them. It eased the tension he hadn’t even realized was there and he and Jon put on their overcoats and he wrapped Myrcella’s fur stole around her, pressing a kiss to her ear as he did.</p><p> </p><p>Jon had called a car so they all settled into the backseat and the driver headed towards the restaurant. Their conversation was easy on the way over, how it always was between the three of them.</p><p> </p><p>As they pulled up to the curb, Jon opened his door and helped Myrcella out. Robb followed behind and Myrcella, her arm resting in the crook of Jon’s elbow turned around and gave him her most devastating smile beckoning him closer.</p><p> </p><p>He was a puppet on a string and his legs pulled him forwards, his hand on the small of her back as they walked through the heavy oak doors.</p><p> </p><p><em>Repast </em>was the most celebrated restaurant in the north, and all around there were elegant groups of twos and threes and fours and fives. The maitre’d took one look at Myrcella’s fur and stepped forward, his arms wide, a sycophantic smile on his face.</p><p><br/>“My friends,” he greeted them.</p><p> </p><p>Jon had no patience for people like this and the reservation was under his name anyway, so Robb stepped forward, “Table for three under Stark.”</p><p> </p><p>“But of course,” the man said, not even bothering to look at his reservation system, “I have held the best table in the house.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella pinched his side and Robb fought the urge to yelp as they followed him through the restaurant. There was a curved booth in the center of it, in full view of the rest of the place, and he led them towards it. Robb was unsure if he’d actually reserved it for them or if seeing them had changed his mind.</p><p> </p><p>“May I take your coats?” the man asked as they got to the table.</p><p> </p><p>Jon had already taken his coat off, so he handed it to the man and Myrcella turned towards Robb but glanced over her shoulder at Jon. Robb pulled off his coat, watching as Jon stepped closer to her and pulled the stole off of Myrcella’s shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>The maitre’d practically gasped as he took her in fully and Jon handed him the fur in a definitive manner.</p><p> </p><p>“Please, friends,” the maitre’d recovered and gestured towards the table.</p><p> </p><p>Jon walked to one side of the booth and Robb held Myrcella’s hand as she slid in on the other, moving into the middle. Robb joined her and Jon settled in as well. A server came over a moment later and bestowed them with three menus and a wine list.</p><p> </p><p>“You make this dump look good,” Jon told her.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella giggled, “<em>We</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>They decided on a bottle of champagne to start. Neither he nor Jon drank it often, but they had a taste for quality, and it was fitting for a celebration. When it was delivered the server walked away quickly, as though they should not even <em>think </em>of looking at their menus until they’d nourished themselves with first sips.</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” Myrcella said, holding up her glass, “A toast. To my two very best friends.” She looked between them, “Whatever else you are, you’re that most of all. And I love you both to bits.”</p><p> </p><p>“You know I don’t say it enough, but I love you both to bits too,” Jon said and then looked at him, “Especially you, you beautiful bastard.”</p><p> </p><p>“Finally, he tells me,” Robb teased.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella let out her gorgeous giggle and they all clinked glasses. Robb took a sip and looked at the two of them.</p><p> </p><p>They were his two very best friends in the world, too. And he really did love them both to bits, even if he never would have thought of expressing it that way.</p><p> </p><p>After they’d ordered, Myrcella made them tell her stories of growing up. She had an almost insatiable hunger for them, and he knew she was gorging herself on happy childhoods as those who’d been too long deprived of sugar might on cake.</p><p> </p><p>They told her about an ill-fated talent show and it had her laughing all the way through their first course. She asked them more about Sansa and Margaery and he told her how they’d gotten together, Jon adding in bits he hadn’t remembered, and her eyes went misty as he recounted Margaery’s proposal.</p><p> </p><p>For a little while they all seemed to forget about what would be happening later in the evening, and they lingered on stories and laughter. Their second courses arrived, along with a bottle of cabernet and Myrcella’s cheeks were pink and her eyes bright.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh Robb, you’ve got to try this,” Myrcella stabbed Jon’s fork into his filet mignon.</p><p> </p><p>If Jon minded, he didn’t say and when Myrcella tilted the fork towards him, he didn’t hesitate to bite the steak off of it.</p><p> </p><p>“Gods that’s good,” Robb agreed after he’d tasted.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella grinned, having returned Jon’s fork to him. She used her own delicate one to place a mussel in her mouth. Robb’s venison was tender and perfectly seasoned, and it paired perfectly with the wine.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you think if Theon hadn’t moved out, we still all would have gotten to know each other?” Myrcella asked them.</p><p> </p><p>Robb looked at Jon who stopped chewing, his brow furrowing as he swallowed.</p><p> </p><p>“Um, yeah,” Jon answered her, and Robb chuckled.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella grinned, she loved to be teased, and said, “Well I don’t know! I’m just asking.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, but you ask these things as though you’ve never seen yourself ever,” Robb pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, so it’s all about my looks, is it?” she rounded on him, a twinkle in her eye.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” he deadpanned, and she scrunched her nose at him.</p><p> </p><p>“It would have been different though,” Jon mused and they both turned to look at him. Jon looked at Myrcella, “I love you more than life itself with my eyes closed, baby, but if we’d just met you know, in the world, your beauty <em>is</em> kind of distracting.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella blushed and took a sip of her wine but Robb looked at Jon for a second more. It was strange, it had happened so gradually that Robb hadn’t even noticed before. Never in his life had Robb heard him make a proclamation like that, and for him to say it so matter of fact, especially in front of him, made Robb realize how sure of her love he had to be.</p><p> </p><p>He was hit with an overwhelming, almost uncomfortable, feeling of love for her then. He always felt it, he was so in love with her he couldn’t think straight most of the time, but this was different. It felt other to him and yet ingrained nonetheless.</p><p> </p><p>This was for what she’d given to his best friend.</p><p> </p><p>He stroked her arm with his thumb and she turned to smile at him. Her smile fell when she looked at him and her eyes went a little cloudy and he felt her squeeze his leg.</p><p> </p><p>They finished their meals, and when the server asked if they’d like dessert it was Myrcella who said, “No thank you, we’ll be having that at home.”</p><p> </p><p>He and Jon split the check and the maitre’d came over and thanked them profusely for dining with them and went to help Myrcella into her stole until he saw Jon’s look. The man handed it to him, clearly afraid he’d lose the hand if it went anywhere close to Jon.</p><p> </p><p>Robb wrapped it around Myrcella’s shoulders and then he left her and Jon to go hail a taxi. They came out laughing about something as one pulled up and they all slid into the backseat.</p><p> </p><p>Unlike the ride to the restaurant, the one on the way home was silent. When Robb went to place his hand on Myrcella’s leg, it bumped into Jon’s. He stroked her outer thigh with his thumb and felt himself harden as she squirmed underneath their hands.  </p><p> </p><p>When the taxi came to a stop, Robb helped Myrcella out quickly, Jon all but chucking the twenty dollar bill at the driver. He fought the urge to carry her as they all but sprinted up the stairs.</p><p> </p><p>They were laughing as they got to the apartment and Myrcella placed her key in the lock, turning it and then both he and Jon were pushing the door open. She stepped into the apartment ahead of them and they both stood in the doorway watching her. She turned around, a sly grin on her face.</p><p> </p><p>It was replaced with a surprised one when the dogs came to greet them all. It broke the tension a little bit and he and Jon realized they’d need to go out.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll just go freshen up then?” she asked them.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll take them out,” Jon offered and then gave him a long look before grabbing the dogs leashes.</p><p> </p><p>It didn’t take a genius to know that look meant <em>Don’t you dare start without me</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella went into her room and closed the door and Jon took the dogs out so Robb went into the bathroom and brushed his teeth. He adjusted himself, he was already hard, and the night was very, very young.</p><p> </p><p>Jon came in a second later and Robb gestured to Myrcella’s closed door, so Jon went and brushed his teeth too.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella came back out into the living room as Jon did and the three of them stood there looking at one another.</p><p> </p><p>“If one of you doesn’t kiss me, I’ll die,” she told them finally and all at once.</p><p> </p><p>Neither needed any further encouragement and they closed in on her. She was in between them, suddenly, and he didn’t waste a second lowering his lips to hers. Jon lifted her hair and kissed her neck, and she gripped onto the lapels of his jacket as her head tilted back to better accommodate them both.</p><p> </p><p>She pushed his jacket off his shoulders, and he tossed it somewhere, watching as Jon turned her around. He watched as they sunk against one another, Jon’s hands gripping her golden hair.</p><p> </p><p>Jon had already taken off his jacket, but Myrcella reached up and loosened his tie, their eyes on one another’s as she dragged it off his body.</p><p> </p><p>Robb stepped behind her and pushed her hair to the side. She had goosebumps on the back of her neck and her breath cracked when he kissed them. He found her zipper and tugged it down, following it’s path down her back with his lips until he was kneeling behind her. He kissed the small of her back, his pants tightening even further when her back arched, her butt pushing against him.</p><p> </p><p>It was Jon who dragged the straps off of her shoulders and suddenly the dress pooled at her feet. Robb kissed the back of her thigh, lifting up one calf and then the other so that he could discard her dress entirely.</p><p> </p><p>He looked up at her, taking her in more fully. She wore a set of black lace lingerie, her perfect butt cheeks poking out of the underwear.</p><p> </p><p>She, a goddess looked down at him, her fingers in his hair as he nipped the back of her thigh. He could smell her, how much she wanted them, and he delivered a single spank to one of her butt cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>She moaned and he kissed her butt, standing back up. He pulled her back against him, rubbing his hard cock against her ass.</p><p> </p><p>“Should I give you your birthday spankings now or later?” he asked in her ear.</p><p> </p><p>“Now,” she pleaded, and Robb looked at Jon.</p><p> </p><p>He was unbuttoning his shirt as he watched the two of them. Robb kissed her cheek, down to her neck, giving her time to watch as Jon took his shirt off.</p><p> </p><p>He thrust forward and she let out her breathless giggle, knowing exactly what she wanted. She walked into her bedroom, her fingers trailing across Jon’s abs as she passed by.</p><p> </p><p>“You know the rules,” Robb grinned as they followed her in.</p><p> </p><p>He shut the door in case this was the last straw for the dogs, and she looked at him innocently.</p><p> </p><p>“The rules?” she repeated, and he chuckled, she always wanted to hear him say it.</p><p> </p><p>“Only naked girls get spankings,” he reminded her.</p><p> </p><p> She bit her lip and looked at Jon, her fingers tracing small patterns on her stomach.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you like that rule, Jon?” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Keep the heels on, please,” Jon all but growled.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Good </em>call,” Robb agreed.</p><p> </p><p>She reached behind herself and unhooked her bra and pulled it off, revealing her gorgeous breasts, her nipples already peaked. She pushed her panties down her thighs, shimmying out of them and letting them pool at her feet.</p><p> </p><p>“Come here,” he ordered.</p><p> </p><p>She was quick to do so and Robb pulled her against him, turning her around. The only thing better than looking at her naked body was touching it and he greedily did both.</p><p> </p><p>He took hold of her breasts and looked at Jon. They needed no words to communicate and Jon stepped forward, taking one in his mouth as Robb squeezed them.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella let out a moan, her hand on Jon’s shoulder, her other arm wrapping behind her around his neck. Robb looked down and thrust forward without consciously deciding to do so. He watched as Jon sucked on one nipple and moved to the other. He pressed his hardness against her, needing some sort of relief.</p><p> </p><p>“Please,” she whimpered.</p><p> </p><p>“Go on,” he told her.</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s eyes were on Jon as he watched her in wonder. Myrcella walked over to the bed and instead of getting onto it, on her knees, she bent over it, lowering her breasts to the bed and her ass up in the air, so that they could fully appreciate her naked body, all except her heels.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Oh fuck</em>,” Jon breathed out.</p><p> </p><p>Robb gripped his cock quickly to give it some relief and then rolled up his sleeves the way she liked.</p><p> </p><p>He followed her to the bed and placed one of his hands on the small of her back, his other rubbing her butt and then squeezing it.</p><p> </p><p>“How old are you again, sweetheart?” he teased, knowing perfectly well.</p><p> </p><p>“Twenty-five,” she answered obediently anyway as she squirmed.</p><p> </p><p>“Twenty-five,” he repeated with a sigh, “Here we go.”</p><p> </p><p>He spanked her sharply and she let out a moan and he repeated it quickly four more times. Her right cheek was already red, so after rubbing it he gave her the next five on her left.</p><p> </p><p>Jon had walked over onto the other side of the bed, watching them intently. Robb gripped her butt and bent down and kissed it before standing up and doling out another ten spanks.</p><p> </p><p>He stopped, giving her time to recover. He should have known better.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s only twenty,” she all but whined and he wanted to fuck her senseless.</p><p> </p><p>“Patience, sweetheart,” he grinned.</p><p> </p><p>He looked at Jon, his eyes were practically black as he watched them.</p><p> </p><p>Robb squeezed her butt and then moved his hand downwards, pushing two fingers into her. She was sopping wet and his cock twitched.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Robb</em>,” she did that giggle-moan that drove him wild.</p><p> </p><p>“I have to show Jon you’re having a good time or he’s going to attack me,” Robb explained. He pumped his fingers in and out of her and then proffered them. They were glistening with her. Jon came around the bed towards them, and for a brief moment Robb wondered if he should let him taste her off his fingers. But then he had a better idea. He looked Jon in the eye as he said, “Stand up, sweetheart.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon stopped walking as Myrcella raised herself off of the bed and turned towards him. Robb used his other hand to tilt her chin up towards him, so that he could look in her eyes. She was half-crazed with desire, just as they were.</p><p> </p><p>“You wanted dessert,” he reminded her, placing the tips of his wet fingers on her bottom lip.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella looked over at Jon and then up at him, and then she took his fingers in her mouth all the way to his knuckle. Her lips suctioned around the base of them and then she dragged them up his fingers until they left her mouth with a pop.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Fuck</em>,” Robb groaned. “What do you say, should Jon finish your spankings?”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella’s eyes glimmered into his but Jon said, “No.” They both turned to look at him and Jon’s voice is gravel when he says, “I want to watch.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella whimpered and Robb couldn’t help but grin. He turned her around and pressed his fingers gently against her back until she bent over the bed. He gave her three more spanks on her right cheek and then two on her left, and then a final one right in the middle for good luck.</p><p> </p><p>He let her stand up and she turned around and kissed him, tugging on his tie to loosen it.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re wearing too many clothes,” she informed him.</p><p> </p><p>“I totally agree,” he told her and kissed her smiling lips.</p><p> </p><p>“You work on that,” she told him, trailing her finger down his chest, “While I…”</p><p> </p><p>With that she turned away from him. He watched as she placed one knee on the bed and then the other. She bent over and crawled over to Jon on the other side of the bed. Such a minx, she knew full well that her red ass and wet cunt were on full display as she moved away from him.</p><p> </p><p>Robb pulled off his tie and started unbuttoning his shirt as she got to Jon, sitting up on her knees.</p><p> </p><p>She wrapped her arms around his neck and his arms went around her back immediately.  </p><p> </p><p>“And what do <em>you </em>want to give me for my birthday?” she cooed.</p><p> </p><p>“You know what,” Jon told her in that same rough voice, while his hands moved slowly down her back and rubbed her ass tenderly.</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” Myrcella let out a bedroom laugh. It was intoxicating, to see her like this. So different than she was with him and yet so similar too. “I want to hear you say it.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon leaned his forehead against hers and told her earnestly, “I want to bury my face in your glorious cunt.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Holy fuck</em>,” Robb breathed out.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella turned to look at him and then laid herself on the bed, directly in between them. Jon walked around to the side of the bed and knelt down on the floor. He leaned forward and hooked his arms underneath Myrcella’s thighs, pulling them apart and towards him all at once.</p><p> </p><p>Her body was a feast. Robb had spent so many hours exploring it that he’d lost count. And Jon was looking at her like a man starved.</p><p> </p><p>Her heels rested against Jon’s back and he kissed her knee before reaching behind him and undoing his hair. Her giggle told him it was a private, shared joke between them but instead of being jealous Robb couldn’t tear his eyes away from them.</p><p> </p><p>He hadn’t watched porn since he’d first gotten together with Myrcella. He either had her or the memory of her in his bed, so he’d had no need of it. This was like a private viewing, but better than that, and so much hotter, because he knew them and loved them both.</p><p> </p><p>And not even the best actors in the world could replicate what was between Jon and Myrcella.  </p><p> </p><p>Jon kissed her thighs tenderly, blowing air onto her cunt, which made her hips rise reflexively.</p><p> </p><p>It slowed everything down, and warmth flooded his whole body as he watched Jon grin before burying his face in her.</p><p> </p><p>Her response was immediate, folding in on herself before her head fell back against the bed. Jon was leisurely but relentless and her face was flushed as he explored her.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Jon</em>,” she whimpered, her hands going into his hair and tugging as she thrust her hips up.</p><p> </p><p>Now he understood, why Jon had taken his hair out. Robb heard, but wasn’t entirely sure he hadn’t felt, Jon’s groan. Or maybe it had been his own, he couldn’t be sure.</p><p> </p><p>Robb pulled his shirt off and unbuttoned his pants, pulling them down and ridding himself of his boxers as well. Myrcella’s face turned towards him, her cheek resting on the bed.</p><p> </p><p>Her desirous eyes looked up at him and he needed relief, though he knew this could barely be considered it. He took his cock in his hand and her breath quickened at the sight. He looked down at his cock as he rubbed it and then back at her, his breath quickening too.</p><p> </p><p>She started moaning in earnest as he rubbed himself and then Jon did something that made her body all but snap and she gripped onto his hair and cried out both their names, her first orgasm of the night taking over her body.</p><p> </p><p>Jon kissed her legs as she came down, pulling her heels fully off of her and kissing her arch.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Ohh happy birthday to me,” </em>Myrcella exulted.</p><p> </p><p>Robb couldn’t resist her and got on the bed. He put his hands on either side of her head on the bed and leaned down and kissed her smiling lips. He felt her hands wandering his upper body and he deepened the kiss.</p><p> </p><p>“I want you <em>right now</em>,” he told her.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes were misty, “I want you <em>always</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>There was nothing else to do except kiss her, because somehow, she found a way to reach into his body and take hold of his heart even in this situation. He loved her with his entire being and she loved him the same.</p><p> </p><p>He took hold of her waist and pulled her up until her head was resting on the pillows and then kissed her again. She kissed him back, hooking her arm around his neck and then tackling him to the bed so that she was on top of him. She kissed him once and then turned away from him. Jon was watching them at the foot of the bed, and she went over to him quickly, her hands on his arms.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you okay?” she asked him.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, that’s not the word I’d use,” Jon teased her, and she sighed and kissed him.</p><p> </p><p>“Then get naked,” Myrcella ordered and then came back to him. She straddled him and leaned over him, a small smile on her face and her voice barely more than a coo, “You’re already naked.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes I am,” he agreed, feeling like the star of the class. She smiled, leaning close to his lips and her fingers trailed down his stomach and she took hold of him. He loved being in her hands. They were so small and it made him feel like a giant. “Mmmm<em>ella</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>She licked his lips and he could taste her cunt on them as she rubbed his cock. He lifted off the bed and took her face in his hands, devouring her lips. He went to pull her onto him but she broke the kiss and pushed his hands, a devilish grin on her face.</p><p> </p><p>He chuckled and laid back down, his hands behind his head watching her. His body belonged to her entirely, she could do whatever she wanted with it.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Especially this. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>She turned around and swung her leg over his, straddling him. She was on her knees and lined her cunt up with his cock.</p><p> </p><p>He moved one of his hands out from under his head and held her waist in case she needed help. She took his cock in her hand though and then lowered herself onto it. He let out a moan as her thighs met his.</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck,” he grumbled.</p><p> </p><p>She leaned forward, her hands supporting her on the bed, and started to ride him back and forth. For a moment it was just that. Just him and the girl he loved, as she road him into oblivion.</p><p> </p><p>But then he remembered they weren’t alone.</p><p> </p><p>Robb opened his eyes, and saw Jon standing there naked, his cock in his hand as he watched Myrcella ride him.</p><p> </p><p>A rush of pleasure ran through Robb and he thrust up into her making her let out a surprised moan and start riding him faster as Jon rubbed his cock in earnest.</p><p> </p><p>“You like that, huh?” he asked and even he wasn’t sure which one of them he was asking.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon,” Myrcella moaned, raising herself up, her head tilting back as she let him hit her at a new angle. “Jon, get up here.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon wasted no time in getting up on the bed. Robb opened his legs a little wider, spreading Myrcella’s further too and allowing him deeper inside of her, so that Jon could kneel in between his calves, taking Myrcella’s face in his hands and kissing her.</p><p> </p><p>Robb watched as she gripped onto Jon as she continued riding him. He was holding her hips fully in his hands now, working her on him.</p><p> </p><p>“I want you in my mouth,” he heard her tell Jon and he saw stars.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Fuck, yes</em>,” he breathed out.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella looked back at him, her green eyes entirely black and he spanked her ass in encouragement.</p><p> </p><p>Jon sat back on the bed, his legs hooked over his and Robb watched as Myrcella bent over entirely and licked up his shaft. Jon let out a moan and Robb needed more. Needed to see more, needed to be able to go harder, deeper.</p><p> </p><p>He pulled his legs out from underneath Jon’s and lifted Myrcella along with him as he got on his knees behind her.</p><p> </p><p>“Please Robb,” she whimpered.</p><p> </p><p>“I know what you want,” he assured her and thrust into her hard.</p><p> </p><p>She let out a moan and Jon’s eyes flicked to him and Robb thrusted again. He watched as Jon’s eyes closed in ecstasy as Myrcella took him entirely in her mouth.</p><p> </p><p>He thrust and they both moaned, Myrcella from feeling his cock inside her and Jon from the way it forced his cock further in her mouth. He realized he could set the pace for all of them, so he thrust again, a long, hard one and then another.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella was moaning on Jon’s cock and one of his hands was holding her hair and the other supporting himself on the bed.</p><p> </p><p>Robb thrust into her again and again, watching her lips glide up and down Jon’s cock all the while.</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck, sweetheart,” he started talking, knowing how much she loved it. Not being able to stop himself. “You look so good like this. So perfect in between us where you belong.” He felt her clench around him, and he moved one hand up her back, gripping her shoulder as her other gripped her hip. He thrust into her again and again, “You fucking love it.”</p><p> </p><p>“I fucking love it,” Jon admitted, watching Myrcella’s mouth moving up and down him.</p><p> </p><p>Robb thrust into her hard, making her moan and Jon’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. Robb did it again. He was getting close but so were they.</p><p> </p><p>He gripped Myrcella’s shoulder and rolled his hips into her the way that made her cry from pleasure. Her cunt felt so good and he kept rolling his hips into her again and again.</p><p> </p><p>Jon’s breath started quickening and Robb looked at him. He had to be seconds away. Robb was surprised either of them had lasted this long.</p><p> </p><p>But she still had to come.</p><p> </p><p>He moved the hand that was on her hip down to her cunt. He found her perfect center and strummed it the way she liked.</p><p> </p><p>She whimpered, her hips moving with his in an erratic fashion that always happened when she was about to orgasm.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re so close,” he guided her. “So close, sweetheart. As soon as you come, I’m going to come in your cunt and Jon’s going to come in your mouth. Are you going to be a good girl for us and take it all?”</p><p> </p><p>Her body spasmed, and she was clenching around him as she came.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Fuck</em>,” Jon said, closing his eyes, his head thrown back as he came in her mouth.</p><p> </p><p>Robb finally let himself release into her then, thrusting into her as they both came. He all but fell forward, his face against her back.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Oh</em>,” Myrcella panted.</p><p> </p><p>“Remind me to thank Roslin,” Jon said, laying back on the bed.</p><p> </p><p>“Excuse me,” Myrcella argued, though it was slightly tempered by the fact that she crawled over and collapsed on top of him.</p><p> </p><p>Jon chuckled, stroking her hair, “We all know her little episode last night is what threw you over the edge.”</p><p> </p><p>“I can neither confirm nor deny,” Myrcella said prissily before nuzzling her face against Jon’s chest.</p><p> </p><p>She opened her eyes and looked at him and reached her arm out on the bed towards him. He took that as an invitation and moved towards them, laying down beside them and rubbing her back.</p><p> </p><p>“You two,” she sighed dreamily. “I’m not done with you yet.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” he and Jon said in tandem and then both raised off the bed slightly and looked at each other.</p><p> </p><p>He wondered if she was the same with Jon. If after the first time she’d get a sort of manic energy and want to do it again. He always made sure to reserve some steam, knowing that if he didn’t, she’d wake him up in the middle of the night wanting more. Not that he minded that, not even slightly.</p><p> </p><p>He leaned forward and went to kiss her, but she stopped him.</p><p> </p><p>“I should freshen up,” she explained.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, right,” he remembered. He expected to be turned off by it, but he wasn’t. He still wanted to kiss her. He always wanted to kiss her and this was no exception, not even with the remnants of Jon in her mouth. He felt his cheeks redden, wondering if there was a way Jon hadn’t heard. He pleaded softly, “Come here.”</p><p> </p><p>She looked at him briefly and then pressed a soft kiss to his lips. He kissed her more firmly, feeling that familiar magic he always felt when he did. She must have felt it too because her mouth opened, and he took her bottom lip between his.</p><p> </p><p>He could taste him, Jon, on her lips, but she was there too, and he focused on that as he kissed her deeper still.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Sooo.... what do we think?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Chapter 18</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>ze morning after...</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jon woke in the bed he’d begun to sleep better in than his own. The light was grey and his limbs felt like lead as he opened his eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella was there, her arms wrapped around his, and Robb was behind her, holding her body to him like a stuffed animal.</p><p> </p><p>Visions of the night before flooded his mind. Her eyes and her lips and her tongue and her ass and her cunt. Between them, always, giving her body to them entirely.</p><p> </p><p>They’d taken a break after the first time. They’d lay there for a while and talked and not, their hands wandering over each other.</p><p> </p><p>She was already on top of him so it was very natural that she’d straddle his legs and take him inside of her. Robb had gotten on his knees and Myrcella had too and Jon had watched in awe as Robb started to fuck her mouth. It had spurred him on, watching the two of them, and he’d thrust up into her harder than he ever had.</p><p> </p><p>It felt good, beyond reason, really, and watching her and Robb together gave him such an indescribable thrill that he neither understood nor wanted to dwell on.</p><p> </p><p>Even still, it felt strange, to be so rough with her. The multiple orgasms she’d had and the way she’d cried out their names, pulling them closer, holding them tighter, assured him it was alright. But they were different, him and her, and though the other stuff was hot and fun, he didn’t want to lose that part of them.</p><p> </p><p>He turned on his side and smiled. They’d rid her lips of their stain and her hair fell like a golden curtain around her. He brushed some out of her face gently and felt her nuzzle against his hand.</p><p> </p><p>“Morning baby,” he whispered.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon,” she smiled, her eyes still closed.</p><p> </p><p>He stroked her cheek as she stretched. She looked down when she realized Robb’s arm was locked around her.</p><p> </p><p>“Help,” she pleaded lightly, a giggle in her tone.</p><p> </p><p>He lifted Robb’s arm off of her, who didn’t seem to notice and Myrcella scooted closer to him.</p><p> </p><p>She wrapped her arm around his waist and her feet ran up and down his calves.</p><p> </p><p>“How did you sleep?” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” he promised, tilting her chin up so he could look her in the eyes, “You?”</p><p> </p><p>“Very well,” she assured him. He felt her hand on his cheek, “Are you alright? After…”</p><p> </p><p>He tilted his chin so he could kiss her wrist, where he could feel her pulse, vital and strong.</p><p> </p><p>“It was the best night of my life,” he admitted, “Apart from the first one I spent with you.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiled but her brow was knit, her fingers tracing a pattern on his chest.</p><p> </p><p>“And you don’t think less of me?” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Why would I?” he wondered.</p><p> </p><p>She blushed and closed her eyes, “Because I… with the two of you and… the way Robb and I are is different and…”</p><p> </p><p>He pressed his lips to hers and felt her sigh against him. She gripped onto his arm, pressing her body against his and he gripped gently onto her hair. He kissed her deeply and then softly and then she was deepening it and his body flooded with the warmth it always did when she beckoned him closer.</p><p> </p><p>“I love you,” he reminded her, “And you are no less perfect to me this morning than you were yesterday.”</p><p> </p><p>She kissed him again, her arms holding him tightly, as though needing to steady herself. He pulled her more fully into his arms, because maybe as wonderful it had been, it was overwhelming for her too.</p><p> </p><p>“But…,” she prompted.</p><p> </p><p>She knew him too well. Lying was not in his nature, unless it had to do with work, and he made a habit out of never lying to her, which was good because he’d never get away with it.</p><p> </p><p>“Fucking you was great,” he admitted.</p><p> </p><p>“But you love making love to me,” she finished for him.</p><p> </p><p>“I want both,” he assured her.</p><p> </p><p>“Me too,” she smiled. It turned sly and she told him, “Though that’s a side of you I wasn’t wholly prepared for.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, no?” he teased, kissing her nose. “You liked that, huh?”</p><p> </p><p>She shivered and he felt himself harden. Myrcella looked into his eyes and nodded slowly.</p><p> </p><p>He kissed her again and she tugged him gently. He got on top of her and kissed her slender arms and collarbone and neck.</p><p> </p><p>“Make love to me,” she pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>He rested one forearm above her head on the pillow and took one of her silky thighs in his hand.</p><p> </p><p>Robb was still sleeping beside them, but Jon knew he wouldn’t hesitate to do the same. There was no reason to now.</p><p> </p><p>He teased her with his cock, feeling her become even wetter from the contact. He pushed inside of her slowly, gripping her thigh.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Jon</em>,” she sighed.</p><p> </p><p>He rocked his hips in a long, slow stroke, and he felt her other leg wrap around him, her foot rubbing against his butt. He let go of the leg that he was holding, and she draped it on top of him as well, clenching his hips with her thighs as he thrust into her again.</p><p> </p><p>He held her cheek as he moved in her, her eyes on his, clouding every time he thrusted.</p><p> </p><p>“Tell me,” he urged her.</p><p> </p><p>“I love you,” she told him with a soft smile.</p><p> </p><p>He rolled his hips then and she sighed in delight, telling him again. He never got sick of hearing it, craved it, even though she showed him all the time. Her love made him greedy, he’d never felt secure enough to feel greed but now he did.</p><p> </p><p>Her fingers threaded into his hair and she rubbed soft, comforting patterns on his back as he moved in her.</p><p> </p><p>He loved their mornings together. They both woke early and therefore had plenty of time to be together before work. They took their time in the morning in a way that sometimes they couldn’t at night, when they were so desperate for one another. </p><p> </p><p>He thrust a long, deep stroke and her head fell back, then to the side, her cheeks flushed.</p><p> </p><p>“Morning,” she smiled.</p><p> </p><p>Jon was surprised when Robb answered, “Morning.”</p><p> </p><p>He turned to his left and saw that Robb had woken. The covers were kicked down to the foot of the bed and they could both see how aroused he was.</p><p> </p><p>Jon thrust into her again and she let out a delighted moan. He fought the urge to go faster, or harder now that Robb was watching.</p><p> </p><p><em>She doesn’t want two of me, she wants both of us</em>.</p><p> </p><p>He remembered Robb telling him that in the woods, and Myrcella reiterating it every moment after.</p><p> </p><p>Jon looked back down at Myrcella and her gaze shifted back to him, he took one of her hands in his and interlaced their fingers, holding her hand above her head. He thrust into her again, deep, deeper than before but still slow the way she liked it.</p><p> </p><p>He took up a rhythm, and he felt her hand squeezing his. Her calves fell down his legs, resting against the back of his knees, every bit of her soft and open to him.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Just</em>,” Myrcella whimpered, “<em>Just like that</em>,” her eyes closed, and she let out a delicate moan, her face crumbling in pleasure. She gripped his hand and kissed his forearm, her other hand reaching out to touch his face. “<em>Please</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“Anything,” he promised, as he always did.</p><p> </p><p>Everything of his was hers already, whether it existed yet or not.</p><p> </p><p>He heard labored breaths beside them, and he turned to find Robb’s eyes on them, his hand rubbing his cock.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Fuck</em>,” Jon let out.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella looked beside them too and Jon felt, he <em>felt</em>, her clench around him.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Oh,</em>” she cried.</p><p> </p><p>She looked back up at him and he found himself saying, “It’s okay, baby. I’ve got you. Watch him.”</p><p> </p><p>“Jon,” she argued.</p><p> </p><p>“I want you to,” he admitted, thrusting into her again.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Fuck,</em>” Robb said again.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella’s head fell to the side and Jon watched as her eyes moved from Robb’s face, down his body. He felt the exact moment they landed on his cock and Jon groaned in pleasure.</p><p> </p><p>“Tell me how good he feels,” Robb urged her.</p><p> </p><p>Jon rolled his hips and Myrcella cried out, “<em>So good. So good</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon circled his hips and Myrcella’s mouth opened in a silent moan and then an audible one when he thrust into her again.</p><p> </p><p>He looked over at Robb, he was furiously rubbing his cock and Jon did find himself going faster then, not being able to help it.</p><p> </p><p>His eyes met Robb’s and Robb’s breath cracked and Jon turned back to Myrcella. She was looking up at him and she squeezed his hand, communicating something but he wasn’t sure what except that she wanted this, both of them, now, always.</p><p> </p><p>He leaned down and rested his temple against hers, thrusting into her all the while.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>I’m so close</em>,” she told them.</p><p> </p><p>“So close,” he promised.</p><p> </p><p>“So close,” Robb groaned.</p><p> </p><p>“I love, I <em>love,</em>” she started, and he rolled his hips and then she was saying things, but he didn’t know what they were and he imagined she didn’t either.</p><p> </p><p>He felt her clenching around him as her orgasm crashed over her and he couldn’t go anymore, spilling inside of her, his face buried against the warmth of her neck.</p><p> </p><p>Jon was distantly aware that Robb had come too, and Jon got off of Myrcella, onto her other side.</p><p> </p><p>Robb was wiping himself off and Myrcella was laying in the bed, her legs still splayed open and her arms behind her on the pillow.</p><p> </p><p>He laid down next to her, his head on the pillow, and the hand closest to him reached out and stroked his hair. Robb collapsed on the pillow next to her and her other hand reached out and rested on his chest.</p><p> </p><p>They were all panting, and Jon didn’t have the energy to do anything besides trail his fingers over her skin.</p><p> </p><p>“Is that what you guys do when you wake up early?” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>This question struck Myrcella as particularly funny and she let out that deep, belly chuckle that was so much rarer than her ready giggle. It was impossible not to join in because the contrast between her tiny form and the robust laugh was too ridiculous for words.</p><p> </p><p>“Basically,” he admitted.</p><p> </p><p>This sent her off again and he smirked when Robb mumbled something about setting his alarm.</p><p> </p><p>“I need to shower,” Myrcella informed them.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” they agreed.</p><p> </p><p>“But as soon as I shower, that’s it until we get back from your parents’,” she informed mostly Robb.</p><p> </p><p>“You should probably hold off then,” Robb told her, and Jon chuckled.</p><p> </p><p>They were all heading out to Wintefell again for Sunday lunch. The Starks had wanted to take Myrcella out last night but Robb had held them off, promising to bring her today. Jon was now very grateful that he had.</p><p> </p><p>“Guys,” Myrcella said, “We should probably come up with a plan, you know, of what we’re going to say to people.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s none of your business usually works,” Jon suggested.</p><p> </p><p>“Does it?” she asked. “I feel like Theon… Sam… <em>Gilly</em>… they’re all going to have questions once Roslin opens that little mouth of hers.” Robb made a cat noise and Myrcella giggled. “You know that she will.”</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe,” Robb said. “Or maybe you scared her off. You know, from what you told us you didn’t flinch –“</p><p> </p><p>“Like a <em>badass</em>,” Jon cut in.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella giggled and did a little laying down wiggle.</p><p> </p><p>Robb kissed her shoulder, “My guess is she wanted your reaction more than anyone else’s.”</p><p> </p><p>“Apart from yours,” Myrcella noted. “She wanted me to know that she was going to tell you.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon hadn’t heard that part, “What did you say?”</p><p> </p><p>“Um…,” Myrcella mused and then grinned, “I think I said <em>be my guest </em>and then offered to go get him for her.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb sputtered out a laugh and Jon did too. She really could be such a little shit sometimes and he loved her for it.</p><p> </p><p>“No wait, no wait,” Myrcella said and then laughed, “I didn’t tell you the best part.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon propped himself up and looked down at her, “What.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella turned to Robb, “Did you know your bedroom is right above hers?”</p><p> </p><p>“Um…,” Robb thought about it, “I guess? Wh-<em>oh</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, <em>oh</em>,” Myrcella agreed. “She told me she could hear us.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my fucking god,” Robb covered his face in his hands and then asked, “What did you say? Tell me, I need it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Itoldhertoletusknowifshehadanyrequests,” Myrcella breathed out.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh Baratheon,” Jon chuckled.</p><p> </p><p>“You never fail to amaze,” Robb agreed.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella got up on her knees and then hopped off the bed. The second wind was here in a major way and he and Robb just lay there watching her as she went into her bathroom and splashed cold water on her face and started brushing her teeth. She propped herself up against the doorway and looked at them as she did so.</p><p> </p><p>“Stop it,” Robb chuckled.</p><p> </p><p>“What?” Myrcella asked, covering her mouth to hide that it was full of toothpaste.</p><p> </p><p>As though they could possibly care.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re embarrassing Jon,” Robb chided.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella giggled and Jon chuckled. He was not embarrassed in the slightest. He’d grown very used to her looking at him, clothed or not.</p><p> </p><p>She went into the bathroom and she bent over the sink and they heard the water running. She started fumbling with something else and when she came out her face was free of any remnants of sleep or make up or anything else.</p><p> </p><p>“That feels better,” she told them, coming and sitting on the edge of her bed.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want us to?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, now that I think about it,” Robb got out of bed and headed towards her bathroom.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you doing?” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>Robb turned around, “Going to brush my teeth.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ew! Go use <em>your </em>toothbrush,” she admonished.</p><p> </p><p>Robb chuckled at her, “You draw some pretty weird lines. But fine – I’m easy like that.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon got out of bed too and they headed towards the bathroom. He realized as Grey Wind and Ghost came to the door of the bathroom as he and Robb brushed their teeth that they’d expect to be taken out.</p><p> </p><p>As though she read their mind, Myrcella came out into the living room, wearing her bathrobe and explained, “I think we should fortify. And give these puppies some breakfast, what do <em>you </em>think?”</p><p> </p><p>Both Ghost and Grey Wind’s tailed thumped on the ground and then they followed her to the kitchen. He and Robb brushed their teeth and Robb offered to take the dogs out considering he had the night before.</p><p> </p><p>Jon walked into the kitchen and Myrcella had already put on coffee and was pulling eggs out of the fridge. He grabbed bread and bacon and she pulled out the orange juice for Robb.</p><p> </p><p>When Robb came back in a little while later, they’d pulled together a pretty sizable feast and he groaned in delight as he took his seat, accepting the mug of coffee Jon handed to him.</p><p> </p><p>The conversation was easy at breakfast, but it always was. Robb and Myrcella lead it and he leaned back and ate, listening to their happy chatter. Few things calmed him the way sitting here with the two of them did, when he could speak or not, depending on his mood.</p><p> </p><p>After they’d cleaned up Myrcella had informed them she was going to take a nap if anyone wanted to join. Neither he or Robb were foolish enough to say no so they all piled back into her bed.</p><p> </p><p>For a little while she did try to nap in earnest, but then hands started to wander and lips followed suit, and after another round of orgasms it was time to get ready to go out to Winterfell.</p><p> </p><p>He’d meant what he’d said, nothing that had happened could ever make him think less of her. She loved them both, it was the most obvious thing about her, and he couldn’t blame her for acting on it when they so desperately wanted to. Even still, he couldn’t help but be a little bowled over when she came out of her room, wearing black velvet pants and a soft looking cream sweater. She had a hair comb pushing back her golden waves and she looked like she’d been wrapped in nothing but virtue her entire life.</p><p> </p><p>He and Robb had grabbed their presents for her and they’d all gone out to the car. She’d piled in the back with the dogs, cooing at them about how patient they had been and how handsome they were and how much they all loved them.</p><p> </p><p>It was a quick drive out to Winterfell and the Starks enveloped them immediately. The weather had turned too nasty for a walk, so they settled in to eat shortly after they’d gotten there. Catelyn and Bran had made a cake and then it was time for presents.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Stop it!</em>” Myrcella laughed as she unwrapped Rickon and Bran’s gift. “You did not.”</p><p> </p><p>“I so did!” Rickon practically fell off his chair in excitement.</p><p> </p><p>“Ahem,” Bran cut in.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay fine, we did,” Rickon allowed.</p><p> </p><p>They’d gotten her a cyvasse board, but it was themed around some show they all geeked out about anytime they were together.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll teach you guys next time we’re here,” Myrcella promised, getting out of her chair to give them both kisses on their cheeks and thank yous.</p><p> </p><p>Robb high-fived Rickon after she’d given him his and Rickon let out a howl.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay now ours,” Catelyn said, “It’s just something silly.”</p><p> </p><p>“You didn’t have to get me anything,” Myrcella told her, looking at Ned and Cat, “You’ve both done way too much already.”</p><p> </p><p>“Nonsense,” Ned argued.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella unwrapped the large box and Jon peered forward to see what it was. She accepted Ned’s pocket knife and opened the box and squealed.</p><p><br/>“Oh!” she exclaimed, “Oh this is <em>so </em>exciting!”</p><p> </p><p>“What is it?” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella reached into the box and proudly pulled out a pale blue mug, turning it so they could all see the letter <em>M </em>printed on it.</p><p> </p><p>“We figured it was time,” Cat told her.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh I love them,” Myrcella said, placing the mug in her hand down on the table, “Thank you both.”</p><p> </p><p>She hugged them and thanked Robb as he lifted the box off of her chair and set it on the floor. She went and retook her seat and then he and Robb glanced at each other.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you…” Jon started.</p><p> </p><p>“Sure…” Robb cleared his throat.</p><p> </p><p>Robb picked up his present and handed it to Myrcella. Jon’s stomach churned, knowing what was coming. He’d been grateful when he’d learned what Robb was giving her, it made it less terrifying to give her his.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella smiled softly at Robb, thanking him, and then tenderly opened the wrapping.</p><p> </p><p>She pulled the paper off and held it in her lap, looking down at it. She covered her mouth with one hand, the other tracing it with her fingers.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s um… a first edition,” Robb told her. He got out of his chair and knelt down in front of her and opened the cover, “It was given from the publisher directly to his daughter – he inscribed it here.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>To the women you will be,</em>” Myrcella read in a soft voice, “<em>Know that I will love each of them as I love the one you are now – with all my heart.”</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>“Oh my,” Cat said at the end of the table.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella let out a tearful laugh and leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Robb’s neck. He wrapped his arms around her back, whispering something in her ear and she nodded, kissing his cheek.</p><p> </p><p>“I love it, and you,” she told him. “Thank you.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re welcome,” Robb said, standing up and getting back to his seat.</p><p> </p><p>“Tough break man,” Rickon said to him and the whole table started laughing, even Myrcella as she wiped her tears.</p><p> </p><p>Jon grabbed the small package and walked over to her. Myrcella stood up as well, smiling at him.</p><p> </p><p>She placed her hands on her cheeks and confided to everyone, “I’m feeling very spoiled.”</p><p> </p><p>“As you deserve,” he told her quietly and her eyes shone into his.</p><p> </p><p>He handed her the present and she unwrapped it, nudging his arm and grinning when she saw how much extra wrapping paper he’d used. Gift wrapping was not his strong suit.</p><p> </p><p>She pulled out the small velvet case, glancing at him before opening it.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon you shouldn’t -,” she started to protest the moment she opened the case.</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t,” he assured her. She looked up at him and he explained, “It was my Mom’s.”</p><p> </p><p>She looked at him a moment longer and then back down at the case. Her lower lip started quivering and then she let out a laugh-cry.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s beautiful,” she told him, pulling it out with a gentle hand.</p><p> </p><p>It was a delicate gold necklace that had small pearls spaced out all around it.</p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t the only piece he still had of his Mom’s, most of it was in a safety deposit box downtown, but he’d felt like it was the most appropriate.</p><p> </p><p>It looked like her.</p><p> </p><p>“Should I?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Please,” she said, turning around and lifting her hair.</p><p> </p><p>He wrapped around her neck and fastened it and her fingers touched it to make sure it lay flat. She turned around and showed it to him.</p><p> </p><p>“Perfect,” he admitted, and they both knew he meant her as much as the necklace.</p><p> </p><p>In truth, it looked like it had been made for her, and her slender neck showed it in its best light.</p><p> </p><p>She stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a lingering kiss to his cheek.</p><p> </p><p>“You have no idea-,” she started.</p><p> </p><p>He squeezed her wrist, the same place he always kissed. Because he did know. She pulled away, smiling at him.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh darling, may I see?” Catelyn asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course!” Myrcella recovered, and she picked the book off of the table and walked over to Catelyn.</p><p> </p><p>Jon walked back to his seat, squeezing Robb’s shoulder on his way. Robb covered his hand with his own briefly and Jon sat back down.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella showed her the necklace and Catelyn touched the pearls and turned to him, “It’s beautiful, Jon. I remember your Mom wearing it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Me too,” he admitted, and added, “I think she’d like Myrcella to have it.”</p><p> </p><p>Catelyn looked at him and nodded, “I’m sure she would.”</p><p> </p><p>There was more in that look than agreement. Concern, most of all – for him, for Robb, for Myrcella, too, likely, and something else.</p><p> </p><p>To call it suspicion wouldn’t be right, but it was as though something wasn’t quite fitting into the box she’d designed for it and she could not determine why.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hmmmm</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Chapter 19</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So I have no real explanation for this ch... smut ahead</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It seemed like everyone was smiling as they walked by her. People were walking arm in arm, laughing, catching up on their days. They’d gotten a fresh snowfall that day and it hadn’t yet turned to the brown muck it would become, it was still pristine, pure.</p><p> </p><p>“So you can’t find him,” she summed up the chief’s somewhat rambling update.</p><p> </p><p>“We haven’t yet located him,” he agreed.</p><p> </p><p>She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and kept walking. Her birthday weekend had been so incredible, life-changing as trite as it was to say, and she’d felt so loved and safe and had almost forgotten her run-in with Ramsay by the time she was falling into bed on Sunday night, wrapped in Jon and Robb’s arms.</p><p> </p><p>That feeling of security had quickly evaporated when she’d walked into her office on Monday morning and seen a small package on her desk. At first she’d thought it had been Barristan, but when she’d opened it it was clear it wasn’t.</p><p> </p><p>It was a framed picture of her through her bedroom window.</p><p> </p><p>She’d called down to the security desk, asking if they’d brought it up, but they hadn’t. Which meant he’d been there, in her office, and he knew where she lived, where she slept.</p><p> </p><p>And he wanted her to know it.</p><p> </p><p>She’d learned from her mistakes in the past and called Robb and Jon immediately in a conference call. They’d overreacted, Robb had come as an emissary for both of them with a plain clothes police officer so as not to make a scene.</p><p> </p><p>Since then, they’d been speaking to the police daily, waiting for news that they’d arrested Ramsay. The police were going to, at this point they had enough to get him for stalking and trespassing, which would give them long enough to look into what else they could throw at him.</p><p> </p><p>The only trouble was that they couldn’t seem to find him.</p><p> </p><p>“So, we’re putting a tail on you,” he informed her.</p><p> </p><p>“What?” she questioned, “No.”</p><p> </p><p>“Miss Baratheon, we don’t know where he is. We don’t know what he will do. The only thing – the <em>only </em>thing we know – is that at some point he will slip up and come for you,” Chief Cassel told her.</p><p> </p><p>“So, I’m to be bait then?” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Better our bait than his dinner,” he informed her somewhat grumpily.</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t really blame him, she knew that he was working hard to find him. That he wanted Ramsay behind bars. That he was a threat to his city and he was not a man who allowed threats to his city roam free.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright,” she agreed. “I’m sure that’ll make Robb and Jon happy.” There was silence on the other end. She sighed, “They already know, don’t they?”</p><p> </p><p>“With all due respect, Miss,” he said, “You wait for my update calls. They… do not.”</p><p> </p><p>She smirked, “I suppose I should have expected that.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” he agreed, “Your officer will start tomorrow. Plain clothes, he’ll keep his distance. Our goal is to make sure Ramsay doesn’t notice him, so likely you won’t either.”</p><p> </p><p>She thanked him and hung up the phone. The call had gotten her all the way back to her apartment so she unlocked the front door and then walked up the stairs to her apartment.</p><p> </p><p>Ghost and Grey Wind were waiting for her at the door and she knelt down on the floor to greet them, letting herself be steadied by their sniffing and licking and nuzzling.</p><p> </p><p>After giving them both an exorbitant amount of affection she brought them into the kitchen and fed them their dinner, turning on the kettle so that she could make herself some tea. It always helped to calm her nerves, not just the drinking of it, but the ritual of making it.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you guys need to go out?” she asked the dogs. They both laid down on the floor with <em>hurrumphs</em>. “Lazy bones.”</p><p> </p><p>The kettle started whistling and she poured the boiling water into one of the pale blue mugs Cat and Ned had gifted her. The boys had cleared some of theirs out to make room and it made her smile every morning when she went to make her coffee.</p><p> </p><p>She brought her chamomile tea into the living room and settled onto the love seat. Neither Robb nor Jon was working particularly late, so she expected them momentarily.</p><p> </p><p>She leaned her cheek against the cushions and sipped her tea, petting whichever dog’s head was in her lap.</p><p> </p><p>As expected, a few minutes later she heard heavy footsteps on stairs. Robb.</p><p> </p><p>He unlocked the door and called, “Honey, I’m home…”</p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t help but smile, it had become a joke of theirs, a habit of his.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re in here,” she called back.</p><p> </p><p>He came into the room a moment later, pulling off his suit jacket. His cheeks were red from the cold and he smiled at her like always.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi you,” she gave him a small smile.</p><p> </p><p>Too small a smile because he grimaced, “You spoke to Cassel, huh?”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded and he walked over to her. He placed her mug on the coffee table and then picked her up and settled her back down on the couch with him behind her, her in between his legs.</p><p> </p><p>In spite of the fact that he was still cold from outside, his arms warmed her immediately and she leaned back against him until she turned onto her side so she could hug him around the waist and lean her cheek against his strong chest.</p><p> </p><p>His hands rubbed her back and arms and she squeezed him tighter.</p><p> </p><p>“I missed you,” she told him.</p><p> </p><p>He kissed her forehead, “Me too, sweetheart.”</p><p> </p><p>They stayed like that for a while. His friendship with Jon was one of her favorite things in the world, and after a couple of weeks of living with them she’d understood why they worked so well. Robb, for all of his gregariousness, for the way he was able to make Jon joke and laugh more than anything else, knew how to be silent. He knew how to just sit and be.</p><p> </p><p>“So, you know about the police officer?” she asked finally, in her own time. “My <em>tail</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>He sighed, “It was my idea.”</p><p> </p><p>“To use me as bait?” she asked, wrestling out of his arms.</p><p> </p><p>She got up on her knees so she could look him in the eye.</p><p> </p><p>“No!” he argued, “Of <em>course </em>not. Catching him is their job, not yours.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then why?” she wondered.</p><p> </p><p>“Because I want you to be safe,” he told her like it was obvious. He was wrestling with something, “Myrcella… I think it’s important…”</p><p> </p><p>“Say it,” she told him. He looked her in her eyes and she could see it, the reserve and the fear and a hundred thousand other things. Her voice sounded heavy when she repeated, “Say it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Getting into your office is not his end goal,” he said. “Knowing where you live is not the goal. This is just part of the game. He may be hunting you for sport, but there is only one way this ends if he gets his way.”</p><p> </p><p>She knew that already. Maybe not in the forefront of her mind, but in the back of it. It was there, in the dread she felt when he was near.</p><p> </p><p>She had thought it, weeks before when he sat down with her in the coffee shop. She the rabbit, he the fox.</p><p> </p><p>And she looked into the eyes of a wolf.</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” she told him.</p><p> </p><p>“Then <em>how </em>can you ask me why,” he asked and suddenly there were tears in his blue eyes. “How can you ask <em>me</em> why? When you know… you know…”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Shhh shhh</em>,” she pleaded, pulling him into her arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held his head, pressing kisses to his temple. “I’m alright, I’m okay.”</p><p> </p><p>His arms came back around her and he squeezed her to him and he let out a single, harsh cry that tore her heart apart. It hurt, to love this much, to be loved <em>this </em>much. She wasn’t strong enough to walk around with his heart in her hands. He needed something sturdier.</p><p> </p><p>But he was what she had.</p><p> </p><p>He leaned his forehead against hers, she kissed the angry tears off his cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>“If anything happened to you,” his told her, his voice from the bottom of a tomb, “I would die.”</p><p> </p><p>There wasn’t an ounce of drama in his tone. No hyperbole. He said it like a vow, or a premonition, rather.</p><p> </p><p>Her lips found his and then they were saying everything they couldn’t, all the heaviness and the devotion and the worry, all of it being conveyed from his lips to hers and back again, a silent, urgent conversation.</p><p> </p><p>She heard the door to their apartment open but they didn’t stop kissing. She couldn’t stop, wouldn’t stop it. Not when he needed her like this. Jon would understand.</p><p> </p><p>“I should be used to this,” Jon said as he walked into the living room, “But I’m not.”</p><p> </p><p>She felt Robb smile against her lips and she smiled against his. He kissed her again and she started giggling and pulled away.</p><p> </p><p>“We were having a moment,” she admonished Jon.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll just bet,” he teased.</p><p> </p><p>“Come sit,” Robb urged him. “This concerns you too.”</p><p> </p><p>She stroked his cheek and he kissed hers as he shifted them so that Jon could join them on the loveseat.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi,” she smiled at him as he did.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi baby,” he greeted her, his fingers touching the necklaced he’d given her as she leaned in to press a kiss to his lips.</p><p> </p><p>His lips went around her bottom one and she felt herself flush. Sitting on Robb as she kissed Jon. She wasn’t used to it either.</p><p> </p><p>She pulled away and turned to Robb. His blue eyes were cloudy as he looked at them.</p><p> </p><p>She felt a shot of something run through her, something she’d experienced before on the nights they’d spent together but surprised her each time.</p><p> </p><p>They enjoyed this. The three of them. Seeing her with the other. They’d never spoken about it, not unless it was in the throes of passion – Robb’s mouth always went into overdrive when he was close – but she’d noticed it, from each of them, all the same.</p><p> </p><p>She pressed a light kiss to Robb’s lips and then turned to Jon.</p><p> </p><p>“I spoke to Cassel on my way home,” she told him.</p><p> </p><p>Jon glanced at Robb and then at her, rubbing her leg, “You alright?”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded, “Are you?”</p><p> </p><p>He smiled sadly at her, “I won’t be until he’s behind bars.”</p><p> </p><p>“No?” she asked, her legs straddling Robb and her arms reaching for Jon, she whispered against his lips, “There’s nothing I can do to help, is there?”</p><p> </p><p>He sighed against her lips and then he was kissing her deeply. His tongue moving against hers and shooting a rush through her. She rocked her hips without thinking and Robb’s breath cracked.</p><p> </p><p>“Keeping doing whatever you’re doing, Jon,” Robb pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>Jon took her cheeks in his hands, deepening the kiss and she felt Robb growing under her as her hips rocked.</p><p> </p><p>She opened her eyes and saw him watching her and Jon kiss intently, and she opened her mouth wider to that he could see their tongues moving against one another’s.</p><p> </p><p>He gripped onto her then and she pulled away from Jon and kissed Robb again. He didn’t miss a beat and set about devouring her.</p><p> </p><p>Jon got off the couch and moved behind her, unzipping her dress, kissing her shoulders and back and then pulling it up and over her.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait - shouldn’t we talk about this more?” Robb asked and both her and Jon stopped.</p><p> </p><p>Never, ever, had it been him to stop things.</p><p> </p><p>“If you want,” she told him earnestly, and then confessed, “But when I’m in your arms, and yours,” she said, tilting her head back so she could look up at Jon, “It feels like he can’t touch me.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her as he kissed her lips and she felt Jon stroking her hair, kissing her neck as he unsnapped her bra.</p><p> </p><p>And then Robb was tilting her back and she was being picked up, cradled in Jon’s arms.</p><p> </p><p>She leaned her head against his and he brought her into her bedroom, placing her down on the bed.</p><p> </p><p>They were both there, ridding her of her tights and then her underwear. Kisses to her legs and her arms and her cheeks and her neck.</p><p> </p><p>Overwhelmed and in need of more she clung to them both.</p><p> </p><p>They seemed to be wordlessly communicating with one another, their hands and lips moving in a delicious symmetry. She was naked before them, they both clothed, entirely exposed and she’d never felt safer in her entire life.</p><p> </p><p>They lay down on either side of her, their hands moving up her stomach and each took a hold of one breast. Robb rubbed her nipple under his thumb as Jon gently squeezed her other breast.</p><p> </p><p>She let out a sigh of delight, curling her arm around Jon’s neck so that he’d lean down and kiss her, and Robb’s lips ghosted over her ear as he did.</p><p> </p><p>Jon’s hand moved from her breast, up her neck, to her jaw and turned her head so that Robb could take her lips in his and she moaned in his mouth.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re ours,” Jon told her and her and Robb broke their kiss and turned to look at him. “Ours,” he repeated, his eyes on hers before they shifted to Robb.</p><p> </p><p>She looked up at Robb and he was looking back at Jon. His lips open, red from kissing her.</p><p> </p><p>And she felt it. Again. The feeling she’d had from before this all started. A long simmer threatening to boil over at any moment. And she thought it had. But not all of it.</p><p> </p><p>“Ours,” Robb repeated.</p><p> </p><p>And then they both looked back at her and she found herself whimpering. There was so much love and want and need in their eyes.</p><p> </p><p>She rested her head on the bed and they took that for what it was. Their hands returned to her, gentle but commanding. She could feel Jon’s calluses and Robb’s knuckles.</p><p> </p><p>And then their hands were moving down her body, together, parting her thighs.</p><p> </p><p>She let out a gasp because she knew what was coming and still she was unprepared for it. Jon’s fingers found her pearl and Robb’s entered her.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Oh,</em>” she cried out.</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s fingers moved in and out of her as Jon’s circled around her and, “Oh my- <em>oh!</em>”</p><p> </p><p>Her orgasm crashed over her almost instantly. They were too much, the two of them together, her body couldn’t take it and it needed more.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh come on,” Robb echoed her thoughts, his voice ragged but teasing, he looked down at her and then lowered his lips to her breast, his fingers moving in and out of her in a slow, languorous rhythm, “We can do better than that.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Mmm</em>,” she agreed, looking at Jon.</p><p> </p><p>He lowered his lips to her other breast and she cried out again as they continued their ministrations. Jon’s fingers danced over her as Robb’s pumped in and out, Robb’s tongue and Jon’s lips.</p><p> </p><p>She threaded her fingers through their hair, stroking how Robb liked and pulling how Jon did.</p><p> </p><p>Their heads were touching, their cheeks almost against one another’s as they worshipped her and she was crying out their names.</p><p> </p><p>Robb kissed up her chest and neck and cheek, taking her ear between his lips and growling in it until she was shivering and panting and she had no idea what else.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re so close,” he told her, “So close for us, aren’t you, sweetheart?” She nodded and he let out a half-chuckle, half-groan, “You’re going to come for us aren’t you? So many times tonight. You know it, don’t you? You can feel it, that’s right, oh gods I can feel how close you are.”</p><p> </p><p>And then Jon was there too, her head had tilted towards Robb as he spoke and he took advantage of it, setting up on her neck.</p><p> </p><p>“Ours,” he repeated, “Aren’t you, baby?”</p><p> </p><p>“Y-<em>esss</em>,” she agreed to what she didn’t know, anything they asked, everything they wanted.</p><p> </p><p>They stroked her through it, cooing meaningless gentle things, their hands tracing comforting patterns all over her until she came down.</p><p> </p><p>She placed her hands over her face, smiling to herself.</p><p> </p><p>“Uh oh,” Jon said.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Wait for it</em>,” Robb teased.</p><p> </p><p>And then a manic giggle escaped her lips. It happened sometimes, after a particularly strong orgasm. They’d both come to know the signs. Which struck her as even funnier.</p><p> </p><p>Robb pulled down one of her hands and it made her laugh harder.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry,” she told them in between laughing. “Oh my… you guys… you are a <em>goooood </em>team.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon chuckled and kissed her shoulder, falling down onto the bed next to her and licking his fingers. He grinned at her as she looked at him and then he glanced up at Robb. She looked over at him and he was licking his clean to the knuckle.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you guys hungry?” she asked and Robb let out a burst of laughter. She groaned, “No, oh my no! I meant do you want to have dinner before… further activities.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, I’m hungry,” Jon said, and she turned to look at him. He trailed his fingers over her lips, and she kissed them. “No, I don’t want dinner.”</p><p> </p><p>She took his index finger in between her lips, pressing her tongue against the pad of it.</p><p> </p><p>“Me too,” she told them, with Jon’s finger still in her mouth. She dragged her lips off it, making it exit with a <em>pop </em>in that way that drove them wild, “But you’re both wearing too many clothes.”</p><p> </p><p>It was an understatement, they were both still fully dressed. She scooted back until her head could rest against the pillows, crossing one leg over the other and looked at them imperiously.</p><p> </p><p>They grinned and smirked, always so strong and passionate in their designations on her and so bashful when she directed hers on them.</p><p> </p><p>She watched as they loosened their ties and unbuttoned their shirts. They were young gods, perfect and strong, their bodies lean and commanding and they were hers.</p><p> </p><p>“Mine,” she sighed happily.</p><p> </p><p>They smirked, glancing at each other and then back at her as they undid their belts and their pants and then they were naked and <em>gods did they want her</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Jon got up on the bed first, crawling over to her and taking her lips in his. She kissed him back readily and he pulled her body against his. She let out a sigh relief when she felt the strong planes of his body against hers. She loved to be naked with him, both of them, to feel nothing but their skin against hers.</p><p> </p><p>He pulled her down the bed and then laid down on his back with her on top of him.</p><p> </p><p>“Go on,” he said against her lips, “You know what I want.”</p><p> </p><p>She kissed his lips, her hand wandering down his body and taking hold of his cock.</p><p> </p><p>“Not what I meant,” he grinned.</p><p> </p><p>“I got distracted,” she told him with the innocent voice that he loved, especially as she stroked him in an entirely un-innocent manner. She rubbed down his shaft, “So much to distract me with.”</p><p> </p><p>He bucked against her hand and then grew impatient, taking hold of her bottom and dragging her up his chest.</p><p> </p><p>She knew what he wanted and she couldn’t resist so she crawled up his body until her knees were on either side of his head, hovering above his lips.</p><p> </p><p>She looked down at him and smiled as he pressed soft, tantalizing kisses to the insides of her thighs.</p><p> </p><p>“You look so hot straddling him,” Robb told her.</p><p> </p><p>She grinned up at him and tilted her head to the side, taking in his gorgeous form. His fair skin and the tuft of hair on his chest, his toned abs and long hard cock.</p><p> </p><p>She licked her lips, “You know how I’ll look even better?”</p><p> </p><p>“Tell me,” he ordered.</p><p> </p><p>Like her with Jon, he liked to make her say it. He knew exactly what she was going to say but it didn’t matter. He wanted to hear it.</p><p> </p><p>“With your big cock in my mouth,” she answered.</p><p> </p><p>She’d said it for Robb’s benefit but apparently it had the same effect on Jon because he pulled her legs further apart until her cunt was at his lips and he lathered her with his tongue. It took her by surprise, and it felt so good and she threw her head back in pleasure.</p><p> </p><p>Robb got on the bed quickly, lying down with his head against the pillows. He inched down so she’d be able to reach him.</p><p> </p><p>His hand cupped her cheek, and he grinned, “I <em>love </em>you.”</p><p> </p><p>She tilted her head and nibbled his palm and then bit it harder as Jon’s tongue circled her pearl.</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck,” Robb growled, and then laugh, “Just don’t do that when you’re down there.”</p><p> </p><p>She giggled and kissed his palm in apology and then leaned over and took his cock in her mouth.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Mmmella</em>,” he sighed as her lips moved up and down him.</p><p> </p><p>She moaned on him as Jon made her see stars and Robb bucked up into her mouth. It drove her wild when he lost control like that and she rolled her tongue around his tip before taking him in deeper.</p><p> </p><p>He rocked his hips into her mouth and as though she was a puppet her hips rocked against Jon’s.</p><p> </p><p>Jon’s hands squeezed her butt and moved her hips back and forth until she started doing it on her own.</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck El,” Robb moaned, “Your mouth.”</p><p> </p><p>She let him pop out of her mouth and licked up and down him. His eyes were black when she looked in them.</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck me,” she told him.</p><p> </p><p>“What?” he whimpered.</p><p> </p><p>“My mouth, fuck me,” she pleaded and then reminded him, “You said I’m yours. Show me.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon squeezed her ass, moaning and rubbing his face against her and Robb cursed.</p><p> </p><p>When she took him back in her mouth she felt his hands move into her hair and then he thrust up into her. She moaned and thrust against Jon.</p><p> </p><p>He took it slow, his hips thrusting up and down, his hands gentle in her hair.</p><p> </p><p>And then he started talking, the way he always did when he lost control.</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck sweetheart, so good, <em>oh gods </em>that’s right,” he thrust into her and Jon sucked on her pearl and she moaned on his cock, “Oh you fucking love it, right in between us where you belong oh <em>fuck</em>, don’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>She was getting close, between Robb’s words and his hands and his cock in her mouth and Jon’s mouth and hands all over her. She was moaning and Jon was moving her hips and Robb thrusting into her and…</p><p> </p><p><em>“Oh fuck El,</em>” Robb cried out as she felt her orgasm wash over.</p><p> </p><p>He stopped thrusting as he came in her mouth and she swallowed him all before releasing him.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my,” she panted laying her cheek on Robb’s thigh as his hands stroked her hair lazily. She went to get up and turn around, “Jon.”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” he said gruffly, “Stay like that. Just like that.”</p><p> </p><p>He’d gotten out from underneath her and pressed a kiss to her butt squeezing it. She looked up at Robb and he looked down at her, stroking her hair.</p><p> </p><p>Jon took her hips in his hands and started teasing her with his hard cock. Warmth flooded her body, and she couldn’t help but push back against him.</p><p> </p><p>“Got a little more in you, baby?” he asked her.</p><p> </p><p>She nodded, grinding her hips against him, “Is this how you want me?”</p><p> </p><p>“Just like this,” he agreed, pushing just the tip of his cock in her and then pulling out. She went to push back against him but he held her hips firmly, “Don’t get greedy.”</p><p> </p><p>She expected that from Robb but not Jon. She needed him, all of him. And he always gave it to her.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon please,” she whimpered.</p><p> </p><p>“You know I can’t resist you,” he assured her but only pushed in slightly further retreating. She felt his body cover her back and he said in her ear, “Not for long anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>It was delightful torture, these slow, shallow strokes, a little further every time.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Jon, Jon, Jon,</em>” she cried, and it was Robb who was holding her hands as Jon played with her.</p><p> </p><p>He rolled his hips, hitting her at a different ankle and she let out an undignified moan.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Please,</em>” she cried again. “<em>I need you.</em>”</p><p> </p><p>And then he was inside of her fully and they both cried out. His hips were rolling into her, his hands wandering all over her body.</p><p> </p><p>And then she was being pulled up and he was kneeling back and her thighs were on top of his, spread open, his hands holding onto her breasts for support as he thrust inside of her.</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck you’re a picture,” Robb said to their general vicinity.</p><p> </p><p>All she could do was moan, her head resting against Jon’s strong chest as he moved her and held her however he wanted.</p><p> </p><p>And then Robb was moving over to them.</p><p> </p><p>She reached a hand out for him and he knelt in front of her, letting her support herself on his strong shoulders. She leaned forward slightly and Jon’s pace quickened, and when she went to kiss Robb she moaned into his mouth.</p><p> </p><p>He deepened the kiss, tilting her head backwards until it fell against Jon’s shoulder as Robb kissed her. They were both so close and she pulled Robb closer.</p><p> </p><p>If either of them minded they weren’t saying, as their hands wandered over her body and their lips followed suit. Jon had taken up a slow, hard rhythm and then Robb’s hand was going down her front to her pearl.</p><p> </p><p>No one in the world deserved such pleasure, and yet here she was.</p><p> </p><p>“Keep doing that,” Jon urged Robb. Robb looked at him and stroked her again and when she moaned both their breath caught, though neither was looking at her. “Just like that.”</p><p> </p><p>And then Robb’s fingers were moving faster and he was kissing one side of her neck and Jon was kissing the other and her arms were wrapped around any part of them she could reach.</p><p> </p><p>“Come with me,” Jon urged in her ear, “Come with me, baby. Come for us.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” she promised, “Anything, yours.”</p><p> </p><p>“Ours,” they agreed, together, against her skin.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>👀</p>
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<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Chapter 20</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Please heed the updated tags, though know that that will spoil the chapter! Eeek whatever you prefer I just want happy readers</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>“This is the greatest movie of all time,” Jon said.</p><p> </p><p>Robb smirked, “You say that every time we watch it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Because it’s <em>true </em>every time we watch it,” Jon argued.</p><p> </p><p>Robb chuckled but didn’t argue. He remembered seeing it in theatres when it first came out, just him and Jon. They’d been so excited when his Dad had agreed, even though they were only thirteen and it was R rated, to let them see it. He’d had to buy them the tickets, they weren’t old enough, and Robb remembered sitting in the dark theater with Jon, grateful they hadn’t invited Theon. Theon who had two older brothers and would act like it was no big deal.</p><p> </p><p>Jon, so much less excitable than Theon on any given day, had been practically vibrating and Robb didn’t have to pretend that it was normal. Didn’t have to hide anything from him. He could just sit in the dark with his best friend and know that they were experiencing the exact same thing at the exact same time and it was making them feel the exact same way.  </p><p> </p><p>He’d had that feeling many times since, none more so than the past two weeks. Sometimes being in bed with Jon and Myrcella felt like that theater. Where he didn’t have to hide what he was feeling, where he knew they both felt just the same, that they were experiencing something together for the first time, and it made them all feel the same way.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella had tortured them a couple of nights before until they were both begging for her. She controlled them, absolutely, and he’d been so crazed with desire the only thing that made him feel sane was looking at Jon and knowing he felt it too.</p><p> </p><p>They were sitting on the couch together, watching <em>The Long Night</em>, which was a pretty apt description for the night before. It had been a wild Friday and Myrcella hadn’t gotten out of bed even though it was past 10 AM.</p><p> </p><p>Jon hit his arm repeatedly telling him that <em>it </em>was coming, and when it did he squeezed it. Robb’s eyes flicked to him, but he was focused on the movie, so he tried to do the same.</p><p> </p><p>When the movie ended they flicked to the sports channel, watching the pregame coverage for the hockey game that’d be at 1.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella’s door opened and he and Jon both perked up.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, well, well,” Jon said.</p><p> </p><p>“Looooook who it is,” Robb grinned.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella held her head in hands, “I only have… one question.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon looked at him, and for a second they were those two boys who’d gotten into the R rated movie, excited and together.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s that, sweetheart?” Robb asked, unable to keep the laughter from his tone.</p><p> </p><p>“Is there… any gin left… in Westeros?” she managed.</p><p> </p><p>“Probably in Dorne,” Jon suggested.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe the Iron Islands,” Robb noted and Jon looked at him and wagged his finger as though that was a great point.</p><p> </p><p>“Help,” she whimpered.</p><p> </p><p>“Come here,” Jon cooed at her gently.</p><p> </p><p>She came over onto the touch and took the seat in between them, and then very quickly laid herself out so that her head was in Jon’s lap and her legs were across his.</p><p> </p><p>Robb took one of her feet in his hands and massaged the bottom of it with his thumbs, while Myrcella held Jon’s hand to her forehead.</p><p> </p><p>“Did Ros get home okay?” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, but Theon is pretty pissed at you,” Robb chuckled. “Poor thing has been sick since she woke up.”</p><p> </p><p>“She’s so fun though,” Myrcella cried.</p><p> </p><p>The girls had been in rare form the night before. They’d been the only ones to make it, so it was just Myrcella and Ros, Robb, Jon, Theon and all of Jon’s friends from work. Had Gilly been there, things likely would have been different, but Sam had taken her away for the weekend so rather than her calming influence, Ros and Myrcella had been taken in by Tormund and Grenn’s more bombastic natures.</p><p> </p><p>It had been a great night. Ros and Myrcella both had the ability to be very drunk without being sloppy and they’d gone from the pub to a karaoke bar to an after hours club where they’d danced for hours. Everyone had been so gone that if they’d noticed the kisses he and Jon had snuck with Myrcella they wouldn’t remember or wouldn’t think anything of it if they did.</p><p> </p><p>Ros and Myrcella had done duets to a riotous crowd at the karaoke bar, gone behind the bar at the pub with Daario as he taught them how to make Ros’ favorite shot, and danced like mad at the club.</p><p> </p><p>“Ohhh,” Myrcella whimpered.</p><p> </p><p>Robb pressed a kiss to her heel, massaging her calf. He knew she must be in extraordinary pain, but he couldn’t help but smile as memories from the night before flashed in his mind.</p><p> </p><p>“That feels nice,” she told him. “How are you two feeling?”</p><p> </p><p>“Wounded,” Jon admitted.</p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t know you had such a nice voice,” Myrcella told him. “You should sing more often.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb chuckled as Jon grimaced, “Not likely.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella looked at him and said, “You, on the other hand.”</p><p> </p><p>Now it was Jon who was chuckling, shaking his head, “It was really bad, man.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb knew he had a terrible voice, a truly awful one. He just occasionally forgot that when he was drunk.</p><p> </p><p>“The music moves me, what can I say?” he asked, earning Myrcella’s deep belly chuckle.</p><p> </p><p>“Did I profess my love to you?” Myrcella wondered.</p><p> </p><p>“Many times,” Jon grinned, then stroked her cheek earnestly, “I liked it though.”</p><p> </p><p>“Me too,” Robb agreed.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella was always affectionate, looking at them both through rose-colored glasses, but especially so when she was drunk. They’d sat together in a booth at the club where everyone was dancing, words of love flowing between them rapidly.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella’s deep chuckle took over her body and she laughed out, “I told you, you <em>complete </em>me.”</p><p> </p><p>He and Jon chuckled, because she had done that, and it had been funny even at the time as she kept trying to find synonyms for complete that would better articulate how she felt.</p><p> </p><p>“You do though,” she said softly, an embarrassed smile on her face and she turned on her side, nuzzling her cheek against Jon’s leg. He rubbed her butt in what he hoped was an if not soothing than at least pleasing manner. “I love you both so much.” He and Jon looked at each other and he knew it made them feel the same to hear it. “But…”</p><p> </p><p>“But?” Jon asked.</p><p> </p><p>There had never been a but. Not once. Her love was a full sentence, definitive and complete.</p><p> </p><p>She grimace, “Nevermind.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb looked at Jon and knew that neither of them would be able to let it go.</p><p> </p><p>“El,” he lamented.</p><p> </p><p>“This is not the way I wanted to bring this up,” she admitted and he and Jon both shifted uncomfortably.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you… not happy with this anymore?” Jon asked for them both.</p><p> </p><p>“Us?” Robb furthered, so that he wouldn’t be out there on his own.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella sat up quickly, “Of course – <em>ow</em>,” she moaned, clutching her head. Robb’s hand went out on its own accord to stroke her hair as Jon’s went to rub her back. “Of course I’m happy. I’m so madly in love with both of you it defies reason. And I mean it, as stupid as it sounds, when I say you complete me. When I’m with the two of you, not even in bed but just here or the coffee shop or anywhere, I feel whole.”</p><p> </p><p>“So, what then?” Jon asked.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella leaned back against the couch, tucking her feet up underneath her. He and Jon both shifted so that they could look at her, but she was looking down at her lap, a blush on her cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable,” she told them.</p><p> </p><p>Robb rubbed her leg, “I think we’re beyond discomfort by now.”</p><p> </p><p>She glanced at him briefly and it felt like a warning and Robb felt it in his stomach, a churning. But there was something else there too. It was like when you were jumping off a cliff into water, the fear was there but so was something else. The desire to freefall.</p><p> </p><p>He squeezed her leg and she looked down at her lap.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you remember before all this started,” Myrcella mused, “There was this sort of crackling in the air when we three were together.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Jon agreed readily, glancing at him.</p><p> </p><p>It was clear that Jon was still afraid she was ending things somehow, and Robb wanted to take hold of him and assure him that she wasn’t, that this was something else entirely.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you ever feel it now?” she asked softly. She looked up quickly. She knew Jon so well, always knew how to give him what he needed. “There’s so much desire and love, and I know that. I have everything I could ever need or want, more than. But sometimes I wonder if there isn’t something missing. Something…”</p><p> </p><p>“Crackling,” Robb repeated.</p><p> </p><p>They both turned to look at him and he looked first at Myrcella, the safer of the two. Her hand covered his on her leg and he knew that she saw it, that she had been seeing it. It was a relief almost, the same way he felt when he watched Jon be undone by her as easily as he was, that there was someone else who saw you and understood.</p><p> </p><p>She’d always been able to see deep down into his soul, and he offered it up to her now, letting her into all the places he’d long hidden even to himself.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella pulled his hand from her leg and raised it to his lips, kissing his knuckles.</p><p> </p><p>Robb tore his eyes away from her and looked at Jon.</p><p> </p><p>If she wasn’t in the room he might have turned away. It would have been easier to turn away, he had made such a habit of it he was now well practiced. She had seen though, and she was sitting right there, and he could not be a coward. Not in front of her. Not her, who made him so brave. Who made them both so brave.</p><p> </p><p>So he kept his eyes on Jon’s charcoal. The eyes he’d looked into his whole life. The ones who could hide the truth from everyone, apart from him. And he looked then for the thing he’d always tried so hard not to see.</p><p> </p><p>Jon’s jaw clenched but his eyes stayed on him too.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella’s other hand stroked Jon’s hair and she pressed a kiss to his temple.</p><p> </p><p>“I love you both so much,” Myrcella told them, tears filling her eyes, “You didn’t make me choose. You made it okay, to love you both. And because of that, I’ll be happy forever with the things the way they are. But if I’m right, if there is something missing, something you both want, then let me make it okay. Let me do for you what you both so, <em>so </em>beautifully did for me, and let me be the one to tell you it’s okay.”</p><p> </p><p>He had never loved her more than he did in that moment. She had never been more beautiful, or as good or kind as she was right now.</p><p> </p><p>It was a relief to be known. And a terror too.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s not that simple,” Jon told them both.</p><p> </p><p><em>Why not? </em>Robb wondered desperately.</p><p> </p><p>“Why not?” Myrcella asked gently.</p><p> </p><p>“Because I’ve <em>never</em>-,” Jon cut himself off.</p><p> </p><p>His voice was low and hoarse and scared. It was the same voice he’d used when he’d told him that his Mom was sick. The voice that had always torn holes in his chest, feeling Jon’s pain like a physical ailment in his body.</p><p> </p><p>As strong as that feeling was, it was not alone.</p><p> </p><p>That pain came from fear and want. There was hope in that pain.</p><p> </p><p>Hope that he and Myrcella weren’t wrong. That Jon had felt it too. That the looks they’d shared had meant something. That the way they held Myrcella between them, always so conscious of the other, wanting to cause the other pleasure as they worshipped her, meant something.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” Myrcella said softly, kissing Jon’s forehead but looking at him. A single tear fell out of her eye.</p><p> </p><p>He squeezed her hand. He wanted to tell her that it was okay. That she’d asked. That he loved her, for seeing it, for trying, for being willing to give them more.</p><p> </p><p>She’d do anything for them, he knew, just as they’d do anything for her.</p><p> </p><p>Anything, he realized.</p><p> </p><p>“Would it make you happy?” he asked her.</p><p> </p><p>Jade and charcoal eyes flashed to him. One in fear, the other in relief.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella shook her head, “No… I…”</p><p> </p><p>He felt rotten to his core for putting her in this position. They would do anything for her, but she would never ask this of them. She would only ever want it if it was what they wanted, too.</p><p> </p><p>But for every bit of fear in her eyes, there was relief in Jon’s.</p><p> </p><p>Jon let out a shaky breath, turning away from him, towards her, “I’d try for you. If that’s what you wanted.”</p><p> </p><p>She told them she would make it okay and she had the ability to do so if she could only understand. So he put all of his faith in her being able to see to the bottom of his soul, the way she’d always made him feel like she could.</p><p> </p><p>“I’d try,” he agreed, “If…”</p><p> </p><p>“If I asked you to,” she said, and her voice had taken on that low whisper that only came out when her throat was thick.</p><p> </p><p>He nodded and she closed her eyes and another two tears fell out of her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>Please.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>And then she leapt.</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Please try,” she said, and opened her eyes, “For me.”</p><p> </p><p>Every part of his body was buzzing with anticipation. He got off of the couch and so did Jon, both moving in front of the coffee table, walking towards one another.</p><p> </p><p>“Should I-,” Myrcella started.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” they said in tandem.</p><p> </p><p>“Stay,” Jon said.</p><p> </p><p>“Please,” Robb begged.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” she agreed.</p><p> </p><p>She got off the couch too and walked around the table. Her arms wrapped around Jon’s waist and she stood on her tiptoes and kissed him. He kissed her back ardently and Robb watched as the calm that always happened between them appeared. He’d never seen anything like it until he’d seen them together. Like a warm blanket being wrapped around them both.</p><p> </p><p>It made him yearn to crawl in with them, or maybe even to be the thing that kept them safe and warm and happy.</p><p> </p><p>Their kiss slowed and Myrcella stroked Jon’s cheek before turning to him.</p><p> </p><p>He pulled her towards him, wrapping her in her arms and whispered silent thank yous against her lips. She swallowed them all, her fingers stroking his hair in that gentle way of hers.</p><p> </p><p>Robb had always been the more confident between the two of them. It had never made sense to him why, when Jon was so good at everything, and so good, too. It took all the confidence he had, and more, to close the distance between them.</p><p> </p><p>He stopped about a foot in front of Jon and waited and then Jon was there too, his forehead against his the way it had been in football huddles and at his Mom’s funeral and a hundred other times in the years they’d known each other.</p><p> </p><p>When their noses touched, though, it was something entirely new. The air was thick between him, he could feel it and taste it. Jon’s eyes were shut and his brow was knit in concentration but whether he was stopping himself from pulling away or stopping himself from coming closer Robb honestly didn’t know.</p><p> </p><p>And then Jon’s forehead pulled away from his, but his lips were coming closer. Robb closed his eyes and did the same and suddenly his were against Jon’s. He</p><p>could feel the scruff of his beard and his lips were soft and Robb pushed against them more firmly.</p><p> </p><p>Jon didn’t move and Robb began to truly fear they’d had it wrong, and he went to pull away, ready to laugh it off in the moment and shake it off, but then Jon’s lips were there, catching his before he could.</p><p> </p><p>Jon’s breath was ragged and so was his. Jon’s lips moving against his was unlike anything he’d ever felt. Different even to Myrcella whose kiss made his very blood sing.</p><p> </p><p>It was like a part of him had been buried alive and he’d dragged himself out and was now gasping for air.</p><p> </p><p>Jon’s lips moved against his and Robb took that as enough encouragement to cup his cheeks in his hands. And then his lips were being opened and Jon’s tongue was in his mouth and one of them groaned and he had no idea which one it was.</p><p> </p><p>He slipped his tongue against Jon’s and then he felt his arm wrap around his back, the way it had so many times before. The way it had never before. He deepened the kiss then, tugging Jon closer. Jon’s other arm wrapped around him and Robb felt it, that warmth he saw between them.</p><p> </p><p>He slowed, breathing him in, now that he wasn’t afraid Jon would run away from him.</p><p> </p><p>Their lips parted but they didn’t, their arms were wrapped around each other as their chests heaved.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Oh,</em>” Myrcella said softly for both of them, the way she always did when something unbelievable and perfectly right had happened.</p><p> </p><p>Jon let out a heavy, grounding breath and Robb looked at him, wanting to make sure that it had been something unbelievable and perfectly right.</p><p> </p><p>The way Jon’s lips pressed back against his gently gave him his answer and Robb’s eyes scrunched closed, relief and want and everything in between flooding his body, his hand moving down Jon’s chest so that he could wrap his arm around his back, pulling him against him.</p><p> </p><p>“Where do you think you’re going?” Jon growled against his lips.</p><p> </p><p>He was about to say <em>nowhere </em>but Jon was turning away from him towards Myrcella. She looked caught out, her cheeks with a gorgeous pink flush to them.</p><p> </p><p>“I wanted to give you space,” she explained.</p><p> </p><p>“From you?” Jon asked her incredulously.</p><p> </p><p>Robb pulled away from him slightly and they pulled her towards them.</p><p> </p><p>“We’re never going to want that,” he told her, not only because it was true, more than, but because he remembered the first moments of sharing the person you loved. Of watching them with someone else and the unease that came from it even as it enthralled you. He stroked her cheek, “Not ever.”</p><p> </p><p>She leaned her cheek against his hand and looked between the two with a teasing smile, “If you tell me that was just for me, I’ll scream.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb let out a surprised chuckle and looked at Jon who was blushing. Jon wrapped his arm around her waist, lifting her up off the ground, weightless in his strong arm.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe it was only a little for you,” Jon admitted against her lips.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella smiled against his and then closed her eyes, a look of surprised happiness on her face as he kissed her.</p><p> </p><p>When they broke the kiss she turned towards him and said, “Let me try something.”</p><p> </p><p>And then she reached for him and he took her from Jon’s arms as she kissed his lips, her tongue entering his mouth. He groaned against her, his hand moving from her waist to squeeze her butt.</p><p> </p><p>She pulled away and there was fire in her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“I can taste him,” she told him, “I can taste him on your tongue.”</p><p> </p><p>And then she crashed her lips against his and was kissing him like she’d die if she didn’t. He sunk into her, his hands moving down her butt to her thighs so he could pull them around him.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon,” she cried as she parted and then Jon was there behind her.</p><p> </p><p>They held her between them and Myrcella tilted her head back so it lay against Jon and he leaned down and kissed her. Robb watched with rapt attention as Jon’s fingers held her slender neck in his hand, his thumb brushing against her jaw, like she was every bit of softness and beauty in his world.</p><p> </p><p>They both turned to look at him and it was so different now, not having to look away when Jon saw him watching so that he wouldn’t see the look in his eye.</p><p> </p><p>Instead he leaned in and kissed Jon again, pressing Myrcella between them. She was right, he could taste her on Jon’s lips and they were all the more irresistible for it.</p><p> </p><p>He felt Myrcella’s lips on his neck and groaned when they moved up to his ear. Jon deepened their kiss and Robb squeezed Myrcella’s butt and he knew now that Myrcella was stronger than both of them, tougher than both of them, because this was too much. To have them both. Their lips and hands. It was too much, he wasn’t sure how she’d survived it. And he wanted more.</p><p> </p><p>He wrapped one of his arms around Jon, Myrcella steady between them both, and his hand moved down until it hovered over Jon’s butt too. Jon’s lips stalled against his and Robb squeezed and then Jon’s tongue was back in his mouth.</p><p> </p><p>He felt Myrcella’s mouth leave his ear and then a second later Jon was sighing into his mouth as she kissed his neck.</p><p> </p><p>He and Jon broke their kiss and in one of their wordless conversations turned their focus on her. Jon pulled her t-shirt, his actually, up her stomach and then over her head.</p><p> </p><p>Robb leaned forward and pressed kisses to her edible shoulders, kissing towards her neck and then behind her ear in the place that he knew made her see stars.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Mmm, he found it, didn’t he?</em>” Jon asked her in his bedroom tone.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella opened her mouth to respond but moaned instead, as Jon’s fingers teased her nipples.</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck I love it when you moan for him,” Robb confessed.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella’s temple fell against his as Jon kissed her bare back. The rickets of her spine and her shoulder blades and the back of her neck. He felt her hands rubbing his back and up his neck, into his hair.</p><p> </p><p>“Gods do I love you,” he told her.</p><p> </p><p>“As I love you,” she whispered, her lips against his cheek.</p><p> </p><p>“I want some of that,” Jon confessed.</p><p> </p><p>“Am I a that now?” Myrcella teased.</p><p> </p><p>“Some of your love,” Jon amended.</p><p> </p><p>Robb tilted her backwards into Jon’s waiting arms and he cradled her, the pair of them smiling at one another like fools.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello,” she said.</p><p> </p><p>“Hello,” he returned.</p><p> </p><p>She giggled and then took his face in her hands and kissed his cheek and his nose and his temple.</p><p> </p><p>“I love you Jon Snow,” she told him as she kissed him, “I just <em>love </em>you.”</p><p> </p><p>The smile died on his face and he shook his head, his voice hoarse when he told her, “You have given me <em>everything</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s heart soared, knowing he was one of those things.</p><p> </p><p>It was Myrcella’s gentle voice, though, that nearly brought him to his knees when she said, “And still far less than you’ve given me.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>ya'll still with me?? interest in the story seems to have sort of petered out a bit but I'm going to finish it because I owe it to this lovely bunch!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Chapter 21</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>First of all THANK YOU for all of your lovely comments on the last chapter. I was really nervous to post that one but even if I hadn't been, it still means the world to hear what you all think! It honestly makes such a difference knowing that people are enjoying my writing.</p><p> </p><p>This chapter picks up where the last chapter left off because... well... reasons 😏</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“And still far less than you’ve given me,” her sweet voice returned.</p><p> </p><p>He shook his head, unable to say anything to that. It wasn’t true, but there was no point arguing with her, and it felt so good to hear that he didn’t really want to.</p><p> </p><p>He was cradling her in his arms and he grabbed the waistband of her pajama pants and pulled them down, letting them fall to the floor. She was naked apart from the pair of cashmere socks Robb had pulled on her last night when he’d complained that her feet were icicles.</p><p> </p><p>Jon looked over at Robb and found his eyes on the two of them. He’d felt them countless times since this had all started, his eyes lingering as he and Myrcella touched and kissed. He’d craved it, he could admit now, the looks and the want that resided in them. All those times Robb had measured his movements to control what Myrcella was doing to him, like he’d been pleasuring him too.</p><p> </p><p>His lips were red from kissing, his eyes full of want.</p><p> </p><p>Jon kept his eyes on him as he turned to bring Myrcella into her room, hoping he’d follow behind.</p><p> </p><p>He laid Myrcella down on her bed, taking in her gorgeous body. Every inch of it seemed designed to entrance him and he knelt before her, ready to worship at her altar.</p><p> </p><p>She knew what he wanted and rested her legs on either shoulder and he could see that she was perfect and glistening for him. Them.</p><p> </p><p>“Did we do this to you?” he asked her, his thumb ghosting over her.</p><p> </p><p>He pressed a kiss to her, allowing his tongue to just taste her before he pulled away.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Yes</em>,” she agreed, though it was unclear whether it was to his question or what he was doing. He didn’t much mind.</p><p> </p><p>He felt Robb behind him and his cock grew hard.</p><p> </p><p>“Talk to her,” Jon pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>He loved to hear them talk when they were together. Robb a stream of consciousness and Myrcella agreeing to anything, everything, so long as one or both of them would keep touching her. The desperation and assurance and everything in between, all the things he felt but never knew how best to say.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s going to make you feel so good, sweetheart,” Robb promised her and then let out a low bedroom laugh, “But you know that don’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella agreed and Jon proved them both right by running his tongue up her slit until it reached her pearl and circled it with his tongue. She let out a delicate cry and he pressed against it harder, his lips sucking hers.</p><p> </p><p>“I love watching him do this to you,” Robb told her, told them, “You crumble so perfectly under his mouth.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon felt Myrcella’s heels on his back, her fingers in his hair. She used her heels as leverage to grind against his mouth and he moaned against her.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh fuck, sweetheart,” Robb growled, “You love it, don’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Yes, yes,” </em>Myrcella cried, tugging his hair.</p><p> </p><p>His lips and tongue devoured her. After all this time he knew all the ways she liked it best, and though unlike Robb he never spoke of it, he knew how to make her dance to his tune, how to bring her to the edge only to pull her away, prolonging it all, and how, like now, to rush her towards it.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Jon, Jon, Jon,” </em>she was crying.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re so close,” Robb was assuring her, comforting her as Jon kept up his relentless ministrations. “So close sweetheart. You’re almost there.”</p><p> </p><p>He sucked on her pearl and had he not seen it before he’d be afraid her back had snapped by the way she extended and then fell back against the bed. He kissed and licked her through it, her legs shaking around him until he felt her all but slump against the bed.</p><p> </p><p>He looked up at her and he could see that her cheeks were rosy and dewy, angelic even now. Especially now.</p><p> </p><p>“I want to taste her,” Robb said in a low voice.</p><p> </p><p>“Just give her a minute,” Jon suggested.</p><p> </p><p>“Off you,” Robb confessed and Jon was hard to the point of aching.</p><p> </p><p>He stood up and turned towards Robb and his knees nearly caved when he saw him giving him the look he’d always reserved for Myrcella.</p><p> </p><p>If he’d had any hesitations, that look banished them entirely and he pulled Robb by the back of the head and kissed him fiercely. Robb’s arms were around him immediately, and he was sucking his tongue making Jon see stars.</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck she tastes so sweet,” Robb growled before kissing him again.</p><p> </p><p>Jon could only groan his agreement into his mouth, his hands moving into Robb’s hair.</p><p> </p><p>He could feel how hard he was and he knew that Robb could feel how hard he was and it was thrilling, to want someone just the same as they wanted you. The only person he’d ever experienced that with was Myrcella, but he could feel it between them now.</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s arms around his back started lifting the hem of his t shirt and Jon raised his arms, the way Myrcella always did, the two of them sharing a private smile. He felt Robb’s against his now, and they only broke the kiss when he pulled the shirt up and over his head.</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s hand gripped his shoulder, his thumb ghosting over his collarbone, his other hand on his chest and then his abs.</p><p> </p><p>He looked into his eyes and his blue eyes were nearly black, they’d likely match his own.</p><p> </p><p>Their breaths cracked and Robb pulled up his own shirt, and Jon rid him of it.</p><p> </p><p>He was beautiful, there was no other word for it. If Myrcella was the embodiment of female perfection then Robb was just as surely her counterpart.</p><p> </p><p>Jon felt the tuft of hair on his chest and then his muscled stomach and arms, his strong back.</p><p> </p><p>Robb withstood his attentions for a moment and then took his cheeks in his hands and ordered, “I want you <em>naked</em>. Now.”</p><p> </p><p>He’d seen the way that voice affected Myrcella, it affected him too when he heard him use it on her, but there was nothing that could have prepared him for having it directed at him.</p><p> </p><p>As though in a trance Jon’s eyes stayed on Robb’s as he untied the strings of his sweatpants and then shoved them down. Robb’s eyes raked down from his to his lips to his chest and abs and then down to his cock.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Oh fuck,</em>” Myrcella whimpered out the line Robb usually used.</p><p> </p><p>They tore their eyes away from one another to look at her. She had somewhat recovered and was propping herself up on her elbows watching them.</p><p> </p><p>“Come over here,” Robb ordered.</p><p> </p><p>For the first time ever, Myrcella shook her head <em>no</em>. Jon wondered if it was part of a game she was playing, but of course it wasn’t.</p><p> </p><p>“I got time with each of you, just us, to learn one another,” she explained in her gentle, pragmatic way, “I want you to have that time, without worrying about me.”</p><p> </p><p>She had made him limitless.</p><p> </p><p>Every time he thought he couldn’t love her anymore she would say something or do something that made the love he’d felt for her last month, last week, even the last second pale in comparison to the enormity of devotion he would experience.</p><p> </p><p>And as he was hers, she was his comfort.</p><p> </p><p>“You’ll stay though, won’t you?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Oh</em>,” the grin she gave them was devilish, moving back on the bed until she rested against the pillows, as imperious as a queen. “Oh yes, I think I just <em>might</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re so fucking cute sometimes, you know that?” Robb gushed, voicing Jon’s feelings the way he so often did.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, but Jon is naked right now…” Myrcella reminded him, reminded both of them really.</p><p> </p><p>Robb turned back to him and his eyes wandered down the length of him, twice.</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>“Yes, he is,” Robb exulted, his arm wrapping around him and squeezing his butt. Jon groaned and was surprised when Robb looked at him earnestly, “I know this is a lot. We can stop if you want.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon loved him for it, but it was the last thing he wanted. So he kept his eyes on Robb’s as his hand trailed down his chest and stomach to cup him through his sweatpants. He was hard and big and it made his mouth water.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want to stop?” Jon asked, and there was gravel in his throat.</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck no,” Robb growled, attacking his lips.</p><p> </p><p>Jon kissed him back, tugging down his sweatpants and Robb’s cock sprang free, rubbing against his.</p><p> </p><p>Robb wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling him closer, his hands moving down and squeezing his ass cheeks. He’d always known Robb was an ass man, he could hardly keep his hands off of Myrcella’s, and it thrilled Jon to feel his hands there, rushes of pleasure going through him.</p><p> </p><p>He looked down in between their bodies, taking in Robb’s long, hard cock. He had seen it so many times, focusing his hunger on Myrcella desperately – an easy task – so that he could ignore the jolt of want he always felt.  </p><p> </p><p>“Say it,” Robb ordered, pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>“I want to taste you,” Jon admitted, his eyes still down.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s good,” Robb told him in a low voice, nudging his chin up so that they were looking into one another’s eyes, “Because I want to feel your lips around my cock.”</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t know if it was the voice, or his eyes, or just his own deep desire that brought him to his knees but something did.</p><p> </p><p>Jon looked up at Robb and then his eyes lowered, looking at his cock. And there it was, that hunger he felt every time he looked at Myrcella’s cunt. Just a flash of it as Robb was picking her up and spreading her legs made him want her against his mouth, and now he felt it gnawing at him.</p><p> </p><p>He leaned forward tentatively though, taking his tip in his mouth briefly. He pulled off and looked up at him. Just like Myrcella’s, Robb’s eyes were shining with want and need and Jon found himself as powerless against him as he always had been against her.</p><p> </p><p>He took him more fully in his mouth, surprised by how pleasing the sensation was.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Holy fuck</em>,” Robb groaned, and Jon felt him steadying himself on his shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>He was hard to the point of aching at that groan, and he wanted to hear it again so he glided his lips up and down his cock. Robb’s hand grasped his shoulder and Jon thought of Myrcella and swirled his tongue around Robb’s length the way she always did.</p><p> </p><p>Jon’s hands moved up the backs of his legs and gripped onto his ass as he took him deeper inside of his mouth. He heard another moan but it wasn’t until Robb spoke that he even registered who it belonged to.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Fuck sweetheart,</em>” he groaned and Jon looked over and couldn’t help but moan on Robb’s cock. Robb gripped his shoulder and whimpered, “<em>Look at her, so fucking perfect</em>.” She was watching them as her fingers played with her cunt. Her cheeks and neck were flushed. “You like this, huh?,” Robb asked her and she moaned her agreement. Robb chuckled lazily in a way that made Jon suck even hard. Robb groaned and told her, “Now I know why you go crazy for this mouth of his.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon kept his eyes on Myrcella’s as he licked up and down Robb’s cock, her fingers strumming herself. Her breath caught and he could pass out from wanting them both.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon stop,” he heard Robb plead all of a sudden. Jon looked up at him, wondering if he’d done something wrong as his focus had shifted, but Robb explained, “I don’t want to cum…”</p><p> </p><p>Jon popped off of him and Robb grunted.</p><p> </p><p>“Why not?” Jon asked, craving to taste him.</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s eyes were nearly black when he said, “I should’ve said I don’t want to come in your mouth.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon stood up so fast he felt dizzy, but he grabbed Robb by the face and kissed him passionately. He could feel Robb’s cock, wet against his, and he gripped him even harder.</p><p> </p><p>He wanted it. He wanted it so badly.</p><p> </p><p>And so did Robb.</p><p> </p><p>Robb broke the kiss and the two of them looked at one another, and then Robb’s hands on his waist turned him around and pulled him against him.</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck,” Jon groaned as he felt Robb’s hands traveling his body.</p><p> </p><p>His chest and his stomach and then he felt Robb’s hand on his cock, stroking him.</p><p> </p><p>Jon leaned forward in pleasure, his ass going against Robb’s cock and Robb ground it against him.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, yes, yes,” Jon answered his unasked question.</p><p> </p><p>He felt Robb’s mouth at his ear and he closed his eye in pleasure when he used that low, teasing voice, “Patience.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon had no patience and when Robb brought his fingers to his lips he sucked on them, wetting them.</p><p> </p><p>Robb groaned appreciatively in his ear and then Jon felt his fingers between his butt cheeks, rubbing his entrance. Tingles of pleasure ran through his body and he let out a moan.</p><p> </p><p>Robb pushed a finger inside of him gently, loosening him before pushing in further. He pushed in and out in a slow, maddening rhythm.</p><p> </p><p>“More,” Jon pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>Robb added another finger, kissing his back and shoulders, burying his face against his hair.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Robb</em>,” Jon moaned, pressing back against his fingers, feeling like he was going mad, “I want all of you.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re going to have me,” Robb promised, his fingers pushing in and out, “Sweetheart?”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Yes</em>?” Myrcella asked breathlessly.</p><p> </p><p>“Can you go to my bedside table?” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>She hopped off the bed and sprinted out of the room.</p><p> </p><p>“I guess she’s ready,” Robb teased against his skin and Jon chuckled.</p><p> </p><p>It felt strange to laugh, his best friend’s fingers were inside of him and he was at least partially blind with want, but perhaps that’s why the laugh came so easily.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you?” Robb asked him quietly, removing his fingers, “Really?”</p><p> </p><p>Jon turned back to look at him, nodding, “Yeah, are you?”</p><p> </p><p>Robb grinned devilishly, “Isn’t that a little obvious?”</p><p> </p><p>Jon fixed him with a look, “There’s a difference between being ready and…”</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s eyes softened and he cupped his cheek in his hand, leaning his forehead against his, “Yeah. I’m ready. I think… I’ve…”</p><p> </p><p>“Me too,” Jon promised quickly, taking his lips in his.</p><p> </p><p>It was so unlike Robb to be at a loss for words that he wanted to assure him. He’d only ever seen Robb vulnerable with Myrcella, and it awakened the protectiveness in him. The protectiveness that had always been there yet so rarely was necessary.</p><p> </p><p>Robb kissed him back deeply and he felt more than heard Myrcella return.</p><p> </p><p>They turned to her and saw her smiling, a tear falling down her cheek. She wiped it away quickly, blushing and brought the little bottle she was holding over to them.</p><p> </p><p>He and Robb opened their arms to her and pulled her in with them. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed Robb and then him.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you going to do?” he asked her with a small smile.</p><p> </p><p>She smiled back but then her eyes softened, “Be here. If you want me to be. And only if you want me to be.”</p><p> </p><p>“I do,” he confessed.</p><p> </p><p>He felt like he needed her there. It was selfish, he knew, but she’d made him realize that he was allowed to be, when he needed to. That she would put him before herself without thought, just as he would for her.</p><p> </p><p>She kissed him tenderly, her fingers tucking his hair behind his ear and then turned to Robb.</p><p> </p><p>He kissed her ardently and Jon watched her nipples peak for him as she kissed him back.</p><p> </p><p>When they parted Robb held his hand out for the small bottle but Myrcella smiled and undid the cap, pouring some of the liquid onto her hand. Robb smirked a satisfied, sexy, smirk until his lips fell open as her small hand wrapped around his cock. She coated it in the liquid and then placed the bottle on the bed, crawling on herself.</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s hands were urgent now as he turned him around. He grabbed the bottle and squirted some more on his hands and pushed his fingers back into him. Jon let out a moan, as Robb worked them in and out. They were moving more easily now, between the lube and him getting used to him, and Jon felt pleasure moving through his body.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Robb</em>,” he pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t say my name like that or I’ll come right now,” Robb threatened desperately.</p><p> </p><p>He felt Robb’s hand on his shoulder and then the tip of his cock at his entrance. He took a deep breath, trying to relax, as Robb pushed his tip into him.</p><p> </p><p>Jon felt Robb’s entire body vibrate in pleasure and then he inched a little further in.</p><p> </p><p>“El,” Robb groaned.</p><p> </p><p>Jon had no idea what he wanted but Myrcella thankfully did. She crawled over to him, kneeling on the bed and took his face gently in her hands.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi you,” she greeted him sweetly.</p><p> </p><p>His heart steadied to that steady beat, and he found himself murmuring, “Hi baby.”</p><p> </p><p>“I love you so much,” she told him, and he moaned as he felt Robb deeper inside of him.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella kissed him and he kissed her back and then Robb was even further in and then pulling back out only to move in again with the most patient strokes.</p><p> </p><p>“Doesn’t he feel good?” Myrcella asked him and he nodded, because he did, even as he felt himself stretching, that pressure, there was pleasure there too. So much of it. “It’s overwhelming at first.”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded against her and she kissed his cheeks and his forehead and his lips.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>By the gods,</em>” Robb moaned and Jon felt him. He was in him to the hilt, his back against Robb’s chest. “You feel so good, Jon.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella stroked his cheek and moved away and Jon turned back to Robb.</p><p> </p><p>“You can move, it’s okay,” he promised.</p><p> </p><p>Robb nodded and then leaned his temple against his. One of his hands held his hips and his other arm wrapped around his chest and grabbed onto his shoulder. Jon reached up and gripped that arm and then he felt Robb pull out and thrust back in slowly.</p><p> </p><p>Jon’s breath cracked and so did Robb’s. He could feel him everywhere, not just where they were connected.</p><p> </p><p>Jon reached his other hand behind them and cupped Robb’s butt and Robb pulled out and then thrust back in.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Robb</em>,” he moaned, “More.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb pulled out again and then thrust back in harder, both of them letting out groans of appreciation and then did it again, faster this time.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not going to last,” Robb warned, “You feel so fucking good, Jon. So tight, so perfect, all for me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Say it,” Jon pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Oh fuck,</em>” Robb cried out, clearly doing his best to be gentle, “You’re mine.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yours,” Jon agreed.</p><p> </p><p>Robb moved the hand that was on his hip down to his cock and took it in his hands. Jon saw stars as he started rubbing it, and he was pushing back against Robb as Robb thrust in and out of him.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m gonna come,” Robb moaned, “Come with me, Jon. Come for me.”</p><p> </p><p><em>Anything</em>, Jon thought but didn’t say as he started coming. Robb cursed and then his body shuddered as he came inside him and Jon braced his hands on the bed, Robb all but collapsing on top of him.</p><p> </p><p>They were both panting and Jon winced as Robb pulled out of him.</p><p> </p><p>“Seven hells,” Robb whimpered and Jon reached vaguely behind him to rub something that might be comforting.</p><p> </p><p>Jon looked up and saw Myrcella there watching. <em>I love you, </em>she mouthed. <em>I love you, </em>he mouthed back.</p><p> </p><p>He and Robb stood up and Robb was kissing his shoulders and his neck and he was leaning his head back against him, relishing his lips on him.</p><p> </p><p>“I think I need to lie down,” he admitted, feeling dizzy.</p><p> </p><p>Robb rubbed his back and Myrcella moved back against the pillows, holding her hand out for him, “Come here.”</p><p> </p><p>He got on the bed, crawling over to her and she pulled him down so that his back was to her warm, soft breasts, her tiny little arm wrapped around him. He held her hand to his chest and felt her calves rubbing against his, breathing out a gentle hum against his ear.</p><p> </p><p>Robb climbed on the bed too, laying down with his head on the other pillow facing him, wrapping his arm around them both.</p><p> </p><p>He felt Myrcella pressed even closer against him and he breathed her in. Robb had been incredible but he realized lying there why he’d had her come over. The way she calmed him was unlike anything he’d ever felt.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you feel it?” he asked Robb. “When she kissed me?”</p><p> </p><p>Robb looked in his eyes and nodded, “It was just like when you kiss her.”</p><p> </p><p><em>She opens like a damn flower, </em>Robb had told him drunkenly the night before, <em>When you kiss her, she fucking blooms.</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>He felt moisture on his neck and he glanced back, “Baby? Are you okay?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m fine, I’m fine,” she promised, laughing at herself. “I’m sorry, I’m just… I’m so glad that I got to be with you both. It must sound silly but… that was how everyone’s first time should be. Gentle and patient and full of want… and with someone who really loves you.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon listened to Myrcella, and watched as Robb did too. And all Jon could do was wonder if Robb's first time was full of love, as his was.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oh! And for those of you who have fallen for Joncella (even if you are hardcore into other ships like I am!) I've started a new Joncella fic called Tell Me What To Give. It's very different to this one, but I really wanted to explore them further and the story that I thought up could really only be THEM, so I'd love for you to check it out if you have any interest!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Chapter 22</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Have a good weekend, Sid,” Myrcella waved to the security guard in the lobby.</p><p> </p><p>“You as well, Miss,” he waved back.</p><p> </p><p>It was another week done. She felt as though she’d earned this weekend, having helped initiate a partnership with a southern group with a similar mission. There was more to do, housing to secure and further funding, but it felt like a step in the right direction. So often she could get lost in the corporate schmoozing and charity events, that it felt nice to do something different.</p><p> </p><p>It was also another week with no news on Ramsay. No one seemed to like her theory that perhaps he’d just given up entirely.</p><p> </p><p>Which was why Robb was waiting for her outside her office, in spite of the police officer being around somewhere.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi you,” she smiled.</p><p> </p><p>He closed the distance between them quickly and picked her up.</p><p> </p><p>“Hiya sweetheart,” he said in her ear.</p><p> </p><p>She pressed a kiss to his cheek, nuzzling against him for a moment as he set her down.</p><p> </p><p>“You didn’t have to come get me,” she reminded him, and before he could protest, she admitted, “But I’m glad you did.”</p><p> </p><p>He grinned and wrapped his arm around her, leading her towards the pub.</p><p> </p><p>“How was your day?” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Long,” he sighed and stroked down the bridge of her nose, “From missing you.”</p><p> </p><p>She giggled and squeezed him around the middle and he tightened his arm around her. He made her so <em>happy</em>. Because he was Robb Stark and he <em>loved </em>her.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re going to have to protect me,” she noted and felt him stiffen. She tugged his hand gently and clarified, “From <em>Theon</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>He relaxed immediately and smirked, “I can give you some hints there. If you talk to him about the movie Homeward Bound he’ll be mush –“</p><p> </p><p>“The one where the pets travel all the way home?” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Robb agreed.</p><p> </p><p>“And that… that <em>dog</em>,” she felt her throat getting thick, “He falls in the … in the hole?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah do it <em>just </em>like that, he’ll start weeping,” Robb agreed happily and she nodded and turned away, wiping a tear. “And if you have any good gossip, he loves gossip.”</p><p> </p><p>She laughed, “Well the only gossip I know includes <em>me </em>as a main character so…”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah…,” Robb nodded, “Oh and Jeyne hooked up with Pip.”</p><p> </p><p>“WHAT?” she stopped walking.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Robb nodded, “Sansa told me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Sansa doesn’t even live here, how does she have all the gossip?” she wondered.</p><p> </p><p>“Honestly, she gets most of it from Theon,” Robb noted, “But I guess Jeyne must’ve told her.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hmm…,” she nodded, “Well considering her roommate knows quite a bit about <em>me</em> perhaps I’ll just leave sweet Jeyne alone…”</p><p> </p><p>Robb agreed and left it there. In truth she had no idea why Roslin had kept it to herself all this time. It wasn’t like they were being any more discreet. Jon and Robb credited it to her bluffing, but Myrcella couldn’t help but think that Roslin was just choosing her moment. In truth she had more restraint than Myrcella would have imagined she might.</p><p> </p><p>Though she knew she’d get the brunt of it, if it ever came out, she also knew that she could take it. Jon and Robb’s love made her feel capable of just about anything, and it was worth any names anyone could call her. But she’d had time to come to that conclusion.</p><p> </p><p>If Roslin knew about them, she was afraid it may kill what they had in the cradle.</p><p> </p><p>“How are things going?” she asked. “Between you and Jon?”</p><p> </p><p>She felt him tense slightly and she rubbed his back.</p><p> </p><p>“They’re going alright,” he said.</p><p> </p><p>“Talk to me,” she pleaded softly.</p><p> </p><p>He shook his head, “I don’t know, El. I mean… it’s one thing when we’re all in bed. <em>That </em>is going… well you’ve been there.”</p><p> </p><p>She blushed at the thought and nodded, “Yes, that all seems to be working <em>just </em>fine.”</p><p> </p><p>He chuckled softly and she looked at him, “But I don’t know. The rest of it… it’s like he won’t let me in.”</p><p> </p><p>“But you’re his best friend,” she pointed out. “Who is in if not you?”</p><p> </p><p>“You,” he sighed. “Sorry, I don’t mean it like that. I just… the way you two are together… the way you and I are together… I want that with him too.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then you have to tell him that, plainly,” she informed him, “I know that it looks easy between us now and it is… but he fought me too at the beginning.”</p><p> </p><p>“Really?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>She nodded, “Yeah, he… he saw the way you and me were… and I think it took some convincing that I felt as strongly about him. So, you need to convince him that you feel as strongly about him as you do about me.”</p><p> </p><p>“That doesn’t bother you at all, huh?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Why would it?” she wondered. “I have both of you. And as long as you’re not considering chucking <em>me</em>-“</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t even joke about that,” Robb admonished. She looked up at him and he stroked her cheek, “I mean it, sweetheart. If anything, my feelings are even stronger for you now.”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded, “Mine too.”</p><p> </p><p>In spite of the cold, the air between them was warm. Hot, even. His blue eyes were drinking her in and she wished they weren’t on a crowded street so that she could kiss him.</p><p> </p><p>“Stop looking at me like that,” he pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t,” she admitted.</p><p> </p><p>Robb looked around and for a moment she thought he was going to kiss her but then he dragged her off the sidewalk, in between two buildings. Before she could ask what he was doing, he pushed her up against the wall and showed her.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Robb</em>,” she moaned into his mouth.</p><p> </p><p>He kissed her deeply and she took all of it, scrunching the lapels of his suit in her hands and tugging him even closer.</p><p> </p><p>“I love you so much,” he told her, kissing up and down her neck.</p><p> </p><p>“Kiss me kiss me kiss me,” she pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>He did just that, taking her lips in his, his hands on her throat and ass, laying claim to her in the most delicious way.</p><p> </p><p>“Well, well, well,” she heard beside them.</p><p> </p><p>A nervous chill ran down her spine and Robb must have felt it too because he shifted in front of her slightly as they broke apart.</p><p> </p><p>Standing there, with a nearly feral look in his eye was –</p><p> </p><p>“Jon? You scared the <em>shit </em>out of me,” Robb chided.</p><p> </p><p>Jon chuckled and closed the distance to them, “Well considering you were about to fuck Myrcella in public I think I did you both a favor.”</p><p> </p><p>“I wasn’t going to-,” Robb started and then looked at her, “Was I?”</p><p> </p><p>She blushed, “I’d like to say no but I honestly can’t be sure.”</p><p> </p><p> </p><p>They both chuckled and she blushed deeper. She had absolutely no restraint when it came to either of them. She’d never been one for PDA but if Robb had tried, she wasn’t entirely sure she would have made him stop.</p><p> </p><p>“Well thank the gods I was here then,” Jon smirked.</p><p> </p><p>She looked at him, his pouty lips and curly hair and sensitive eyes and admitted, “I always do.”</p><p> </p><p>“For fucks sake,” Jon sighed and pressed his lips to hers.</p><p> </p><p>She kissed him back, feeling his soft lips and gentle hands and sunk against him as that calm took over.</p><p> </p><p>It was Jon who pulled away and she looked up at them expectantly.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey,” Robb greeted him.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi,” Jon nodded.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella coughed, “<em>Kiss</em>,” and then coughed again.</p><p> </p><p>Robb chuckled and Jon blushed but leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Robb’s lips.</p><p> </p><p>They were so beautiful together. Her men. She loved them both so dearly and they drove her crazy, but the two of them together was <em>art</em>.</p><p> </p><p>“We could just go home,” Robb suggested.</p><p> </p><p>Jon nodded, “Whatever you guys want.”</p><p> </p><p>They both turned to look at her and she thought about it. They <em>could </em>go home, the gods knew she wanted them both just as much as they wanted her and each other, but she also knew that once they got home they wouldn’t leave again until Sunday when they went to the Starks. They’d walk the dogs but that was about it. The rest of the weekend would be spent naked.</p><p> </p><p>Which was great, thrilling, even, but she knew they should spend time with their friends too.</p><p> </p><p>“We should go for a drink, at least,” she told them. “Our absence recently has been noted.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh no,” Jon deadpanned.</p><p> </p><p>“How terrible,” Robb agreed.</p><p> </p><p>She grinned, “You guys are awful. And you both missed Roslin’s birthday earlier this week.”</p><p> </p><p>“That was your fault!” Robb pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>“One hundred percent your fault,” Jon confirmed.</p><p> </p><p>“In what way was it <em>my </em>fault?” she argued. “I just wasn’t going.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah and you… were taking a <em>bath</em>,” Robb accused.</p><p> </p><p>She gasped in faux horror, “A bath? Don’t tell me… was I… was I going to wash my hair too?”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t even play that game,” Jon narrowed his eyes at her, “You knew exactly what you were doing.”</p><p> </p><p>She narrowed her eyes at him and then pushed both their chests so they moved away from her, “You know, boys, I’m not entirely sure I like what I’m being accused of.”</p><p> </p><p>With that she walked out of the alley and back onto the sidewalk, heading towards the pub. They caught up to her within seconds and Robb draped his arm around her shoulders as Jon got on her other side.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay but you <em>know </em>what you did, right?” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Oh Jon, do we have any matches left? I want to light a few candles…</em>” Jon did a scarily good impression of her in her ear.</p><p> </p><p>“I <em>did </em>want to light candles,” she noted.</p><p> </p><p>“And the bubbles?” Jon asked.</p><p> </p><p>“They make my skin soft,” she reasoned.</p><p> </p><p>“And the music?” Robb wondered.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s <em>relaxing,</em>” she explained.</p><p> </p><p>“Uh huh, and um, what about the strawberries?” Jon asked.</p><p> </p><p>She blushed and bit her lip and they both turned to look at her, “I… was hungry.”</p><p> </p><p>They both broke down in laughter, satisfied that they’d won. She really <em>had </em>intended to have a relaxing night in the bath by herself. She had needed one, the way they’d worn her out, but then they’d both been being so sweet, and they’d looked so handsome and she had really just wanted to fuck with them a little bit. She hadn’t expected them to actually <em>stay. </em>But then they started kissing and touching her and she forgot that they had anywhere to be.</p><p> </p><p>Jon opened the door to the pub for them and she followed Robb inside, letting her fingers trail against Jon’s hand as she moved by him.</p><p> </p><p>There was already a group amassed and she wondered vaguely if it was very clear she’d been kissing someone, though thankfully it was dark enough that people likely wouldn’t notice.</p><p> </p><p>She saw Pip shooting lovelorn glances at Jeyne, and Jeyne hiding into her vodka soda as Roslin looked at Pip and spoke quickly to her.</p><p> </p><p>They walked over the bar and Ros stepped towards them and hugged her. She hugged her back and then turned to her boyfriend.</p><p> </p><p>“Theon, hey,” she smiled weakly.</p><p> </p><p>He pointed at her, “I’m watching you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Hey cut her some slack, she’s kind of emotional right now,” Robb explained, wrapping his arm around her.</p><p> </p><p>“I am not,” she said, looking up at him.</p><p> </p><p>Robb looked meaningfully at her and said, “Yes… you are… remember.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh, <em>oh</em>, yes,” she nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s wrong?” Theon asked, “I was just kidding…mostly.”</p><p> </p><p>She waved him off, shaking her head, “You’ll think it’s stupid…”</p><p> </p><p>“Try me,” he said gamely.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s just this… this movie they made me watch last night,” she shook her head, “Gosh this is <em>so </em>stupid.”</p><p> </p><p>“What movie?” Theon wondered.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s the thing… I’m so pathetic…it’s a <em>kids </em>movie… but these animals get left at this farm right… and they want to go all the way home and…” she broke off as though she couldn’t go any further.</p><p> </p><p>“HOMEWARD BOUND?” Theon asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes!” she exclaimed.</p><p> </p><p>“When Shadow comes over the hill…” Theon said, shaking his head. The man was holding back tears. “Oh come here, you.”</p><p> </p><p>With that Theon hugged her and Robb winked at her over his shoulder. She rubbed Theon’s back soothingly and then Ros told her that she’d embargoed that movie in their house because Theon <em>couldn’t handle it</em>.</p><p> </p><p>After that, things were totally normal. Roslin kept her distance and she felt her eyes on her every so often, but she busied herself with Ros and Theon and Tormund and Grenn. Pip finally got the courage to go over and buy Jeyne a drink and the pair were flirting pretty heavily when Jon whispered in her ear all the things that he wanted to do to her when they got home.</p><p> </p><p>That ended the evening as far as she was concerned and she, Robb and Jon headed out into the night. They were all laughing about something as they came home and then Jon had the nerve to tell her she wasn’t strong enough to carry him.</p><p> </p><p>“I so am!” she argued as they got into their building. “Get on my back.”</p><p> </p><p>“No,” he smirked.</p><p> </p><p>“Get on my back, Snow!” she ordered.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s going to break your knees,” Robb pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>“Are you calling me fat?” Jon asked in horror.</p><p> </p><p>“No, I’m saying she’s got bird bones!” Robb argued.</p><p> </p><p>“And <em>muscles of steel</em>,” she cut in.</p><p> </p><p>“By the gods,” Robb laughed, “Just fucking do it, we’ve all got health insurance and nowhere to be for the next six months.”</p><p> </p><p>She stood in front of Jon and bent her knees, bending slightly.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay I can think of <em>so many </em>better things to do if you want to be in this position,” Jon pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t make me laugh,” she admonished.</p><p> </p><p>Jon wrapped his arms around her neck, “Did you get smaller, somehow?”</p><p> </p><p>“Just do it,” she sighed.</p><p> </p><p>Jon hoisted himself up and she grabbed the backs of his thighs and started walking. He was heavy, really heavy, but she wasn’t going to tell <em>them </em>that.</p><p> </p><p>The look of horror on Robb’s face was worth it and Jon was calling her freakish and the stairs were right there, so she stepped up one.</p><p> </p><p>“She’s doing it,” Jon informed Robb needlessly.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh Robb, can you grab the mail?” she asked, forcing herself up another step.</p><p> </p><p>“Well since you’ve already grabbed Jon, that seems fair,” Robb said.</p><p> </p><p>That did it, she started laughing and went to fall forward. Jon of course, even being on her back still found a way to protect her and braced his arm on the stairs and grabbed her by the waist, before her head could smack against the stairs.</p><p> </p><p>“YOU RISK YOUR PRECIOUS FACE TO PROVE A POINT?” Jon argued.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>I’d risk my</em> <em>life to prove a point you know this,” </em>she told him dramatically and she could feel more than hear him laughing against her.</p><p> </p><p>Jon stood up and pulled her up to, hoisting her over his shoulder. Her stomach lurched with every step as she was laughing.</p><p> </p><p>“You brought this on yourself, sweetheart,” Robb noted and grabbed the hand that was going to shove his face and pressed a kiss to it.</p><p> </p><p>As they got inside, Jon let her off his shoulder but cradled her in his arms and bent down, letting Grey Wind and Ghost get free access to her face.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” <em>lick, </em>“My,” <em>lick, lick, </em>“Goodness.”</p><p> </p><p>“El you got a letter,” Robb told her, as though his and Jon’s dogs weren’t attacking her with affection.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s probably from Shireen,” she said as Jon mercifully pulled her up and wiped the dog hair off of her face.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t think so,” he said, “There’s no postage on it.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon’s arms tightened around her and she looked up at him. Where there had once been mirth there was now only fear.</p><p> </p><p>“Put me down,” she ordered.</p><p> </p><p>He did as she asked though his hands never left her as she crossed to Robb to take the envelope from him. She was surprised that it was with an unshaking finger that she tore it open.</p><p> </p><p>Robb had been wrong, it wasn’t a letter. It was a picture, one that must have been taken earlier this evening and developed quickly. A picture of Robb’s arms wrapped around her and Jon as they kissed in the alleyway.</p><p> </p><p>“He…he was there…,” she realized.</p><p> </p><p>They were both there and she felt their hands on her but couldn’t look anywhere but that picture. Something made her turn it over and then her blood ran cold. There was a note, written in erratic, large letters.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>They may be willing to share you, but I’m not. </em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Chapter 23</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Oooh I couldn't wait to post this chapter! I've been wanting to get to it for so long!</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Do you want me to stay with you?” he asked, stroking Myrcella’s hair.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s alright,” she said, though she burrowed against his chest anyway.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t mind,” he promised, loathe to let her out of his arms at all.</p><p> </p><p>She pressed a kiss to his t shirt and then released him, turning away and curling up in a ball.</p><p> </p><p>“Go check on Jon,” she suggested with a yawn.</p><p> </p><p>He leaned over and pressed a kiss to the back of her head, rubbing her arm and then released her and got off of the bed.</p><p> </p><p>“Are the dogs there?” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course, they are,” he almost smiled.</p><p> </p><p>The dogs wouldn’t be letting her out of their sight if they could help it. They’d both laid at her feet when the officer was there, curling against her as she answered question after question as though she was the criminal rather than the victim.</p><p>“Puppies,” she called.</p><p> </p><p>Just like that, both Grey Wind and Ghost hopped up onto the bed, crowding around her before settling in. Grey Wind, the prince, laid himself across the pillows, resting his head on the crook of her neck. Ghost curled up at her feet, but then covered much of her legs with his body.</p><p> </p><p>Satisfied that she was well tended he closed her door softly behind him. The living room was empty and a quick glance in Jon’s room showed that it was too. He walked through and into the kitchen, where he found Jon looking in the fridge.</p><p> </p><p>“She fall asleep?” Jon asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Not yet,” Robb told him, “But the dogs are with her. She’ll be down for the count soon.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon nodded and Robb walked further into the kitchen, leaning against the counter.</p><p> </p><p>“Today was bullshit,” Robb told him.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Jon agreed, “They’re just doing their job though.”</p><p> </p><p>“Not well,” Robb pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>“No, not well,” Jon allowed. “If he’s not found by the time I go into work on Monday…”</p><p> </p><p>“She’ll kill you, man,” Robb reminded him. “She will kill you <em>dead</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s fine,” Jon sighed, glancing at him briefly.</p><p> </p><p>That glance finished his sentence for him, so that Jon didn’t have to say it. It didn’t stop him from hearing it though.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>She can kill me all she wants, as long as she’s alive. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>Jon had wanted to take this into his own hands from the start. Before the threats had really begun, before it was evident that Ramsay knew where Myrcella lived, where she slept. Certainly before last night.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella had made him promise not to though. It would mean him being fired, at the very least, him using the resources at his work to investigate something personal. Night’s Watch had contracts with the government though, so at worst, this would lead to an investigation as to whether the Westerosi government had contracted out to spy on its own citizens.</p><p> </p><p>That would hit far too close to home, to the truth of what they paid Night’s Watch for, and Jon could be considered guilty of treason if he risked exposing it.</p><p> </p><p>Which was the only reason he’d stood firm with Myrcella when she and Jon had gotten in a fight about it weeks prior. He’d never in his life seen either of them angrier.</p><p> </p><p>“You can’t do it,” Robb argued. “I mean it, Jon. It’s <em>not </em>an option.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course, it’s an option,” Jon all but growled, angrily putting vegetables on the counter. “What wouldn’t <em>you</em> risk, to save her?”</p><p> </p><p><em>You</em>, Robb thought but didn’t say.</p><p> </p><p>It had always been that way, it had just taken longer for him to realize it. It was why he’d been open to this whole thing in the first place. The idea of losing either of them was like losing a limb. He couldn’t choose between his left leg and his right any more than he could choose between Myrcella and Jon.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you doing?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I thought I’d make dinner for when she wakes up,” Jon told him, “She hasn’t eaten today.”</p><p> </p><p>That wasn’t wholly surprising. None of them had been in the mood for anything the night before after they’d seen the picture, and he and Jon had still been talking about what to do when she fell asleep. They’d all agreed to call the police but Myrcella had been antsy waiting for them to come and then worn out when they’d left.</p><p> </p><p>He and Jon had been revolving doors of restraint as the officer asked Myrcella questions. They’d both lost their tempers at different times having to be pulled back by the other, or her.</p><p> </p><p>He wasn’t one of the usual ones, but a detective, and he made her go through the whole story again, point by point, from the very first moment she met Ramsay. She’d been so strong, her spine like a taut rope, but with each round of questions he could see it withering.</p><p> </p><p>“Can I help?” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>Jon nodded and Robb walked over to the counter where the recipe was and looked at it. He couldn’t help but smile when he saw it. It was a vegetarian stew, something Jon would hate and Myrcella would love.</p><p> </p><p>He placed his hands on Jon’s shoulders and pressed a kiss to the back of his head, overwhelmed with love for him.</p><p> </p><p>“How are you doing, bub?” he asked, moving one of his hands so that he could wrap his arm around Jon’s chest.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m fine,” Jon told him stiffly.</p><p> </p><p>“No, you’re not,” Robb argued, turning him around. He cupped his cheek in his hand, trying to make his charcoal eyes meet his, “Talk to me.”</p><p> </p><p>He shook his head, “I can’t.”</p><p> </p><p>“You can tell me anything,” Robb assured him.</p><p> </p><p>Jon still wouldn’t meet his eyes and said, his voice low and hoarse as though he was struggling to keep it from breaking, “I have to be strong for <em>her</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>That tore Robb’s heart in two, “You are. You <em>are</em>. But… I can be strong for you.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon’s breath caught and then his lips were against his. He could feel it, then, all the things Jon felt he couldn’t say. All the things Robb himself had thought. The anger and the fear and the painful, vicious, relentless love he had for Myrcella.</p><p> </p><p>Robb kissed him back, swallowing it all and then giving him his own. Jon all but wailed into his mouth and Robb held him tighter, wondering if this wouldn’t just kill one or both of them anyway, no matter what they did.</p><p> </p><p>He cupped Jon’s cheeks in his hands as Jon’s hands roamed his back and he deepened the kiss, slowed it, sinking against Jon.</p><p> </p><p>He felt Jon try to intensify it but he held steady, craving it, needing that softness, that calm that he’d seen Jon and Myrcella give to one another so many times.</p><p> </p><p>And then Jon’s hand moved from around his back, to cup his cock through his sweats. It took Robb a moment to forget about how good his hand felt rubbing him and remember what was happening.</p><p> </p><p>“What are you doing?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Touching you,” Jon murmured against his lips, stroking his cock.</p><p> </p><p>Robb took hold of his wrist and pulled his hand away, “Why?”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s what you want, isn’t it?” Jon asked with a small grin and sad eyes.</p><p> </p><p>“No that’s not what I want!” Robb argued, stepping away from him. Jon looked meaningfully down his body, stalling at his hard cock, and Robb blushed, “I mean yes of course I want that, I <em>always </em>want that. But that’s not what this is… for fuck’s sake man.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry,” Jon blushed.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t be sorry just…,” Robb started and then asked him what he’d been dying to, “Why can’t you let me in?”</p><p> </p><p>“Robb,” Jon sighed.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Robb refused to be pushed away, not now. “Myrcella makes you so <em>sure</em>… and I obviously don’t. So, tell me what I’m doing wrong.”</p><p> </p><p>“Nothing,” Jon argued.</p><p> </p><p>Robb ran his hands through his hair and pleaded, “Then tell me what I’m <em>not </em>doing.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon continued taking things out of the fridge and shook his head, “It’s nothing you are or are not doing. It’s just that Myrcella and I are different, you know um… it’s clear, between us. And you and me…it’s not.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb took the carrots out of his hand and closed the fridge door, turning him around. He wasn’t going to have this conversation while they chopped vegetables and now that it had started he wasn’t going to stop it either.</p><p> </p><p>“Why?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>Something seemed to break in Jon and he all but shouted at him, “Because you’re my best friend! You’ve been more a… a <em>brother </em>to me than anyone else and now we fuck and –“</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t say it like that!” Robb argued, slamming his hand on the counter, “Damn it Jon, I’m not going to listen to that.”</p><p> </p><p>Sure, they fucked, of course they did. But it wasn’t just that. They made love, too. There was so much tenderness between them. Robb could feel it, running freely between the two of them when they were naked and together.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not saying it to hurt you,” Jon told him more gently, “I’m just saying I don’t know where one ends and the other begins.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb pulled him into his arms, “Why does there have to be a distinction? Why is it…different? Isn’t Myrcella your best friend too?” Jon nodded and so Robb asked, “So why is it different? Myrcella doesn’t doubt <em>me </em>and you don’t doubt <em>her,</em> so tell me!”</p><p> </p><p>“Because Myrcella is in love with me!” Jon argued, wrestling out of his arms.</p><p> </p><p>Jon turned away from him then and Robb wouldn’t have it. He turned him back around and took his cheeks in his hands.</p><p> </p><p>“And I’m not?” he raged. Jon refused to meet his eyes and Robb leaned his forehead against his, “Tell me Jon what would you call it? What would you call it when I lose track of time thinking about you? When you are the first person I would call if I was in trouble and the last I’d ever want to hurt.” Jon’s eyes moved upwards and Robb could see it, the fear and uncertainty that he’d always felt and Robb had never understood. Had never been able to stomach, really, from one as perfect as Jon. So he told him, because there were no shortage of words he’d give if it might convince him, “I crave your good opinion and I trust you more than anyone and yes - I <em>want </em>you every second of every day.” Jon’s cheeks were flushed and his lips were open in want and Robb could have stopped there but Jon wasn’t the only one who needed assurance, “Tell me what about that isn’t love! Tell me what part <em>I </em>left out. Tell me what I’m somehow deficient in.”</p><p> </p><p>“Robb,” Jon murmured, brushing his cheeks and only then did Robb realize he was crying.</p><p> </p><p>There was no memory Robb could place before him. There was no time in his life that Robb could remember not knowing him. There had never been a second when Robb had understood his own existence without also understanding Jon’s. He had just been there, always. Two trees that had so long stood next to one another that their roots had intertwined without them even realizing it.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s different,” he admitted, “To what I have with Myrcella, what you have. She’s in my heart, my blood.” He let out a wracked sob, “But damn it, Jon… you’re in my bones.”</p><p> </p><p>And then he was in Jon’s arms, his strong arms holding him so gently, his lips pressing soft, assuring kisses to his temple. Robb held onto him, gripping him too tightly but Jon didn’t complain, he just kept stroking his hair and his back.</p><p> </p><p>“I just… couldn’t believe,” Jon said in ear, “That I’d get it twice.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb burrowed his face in Jon’s neck, breathing him in and Jon’s lips brushed against his cheek.</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella loving me… I never thought I’d get luckier than that,” Jon went on, “So when this all started, I didn’t want to push. I was afraid I would get greedy and lose everything.”</p><p> </p><p>“But that’s what you want?” Robb asked against him, “Everything?”</p><p> </p><p>Jon sighed and loosened his grasp, his hands moving up until he held Robb’s cheeks in his hands. His eyes were different now, shining with want and love and that deep sturdiness Robb craved.</p><p> </p><p>“Every damn thing,” he promised, “All of you.”</p><p> </p><p>“I love you,” Robb told him plainly, so that there could be no room for misinterpretation, just as Myrcella had told him to.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Jon half smirked, half murmured. “You made that pretty clear. So, let me do the same. I love you, I’m <em>in</em> love with you. And you are there, in my bones, too. There is none of you that isn’t me already. Anything you’ve ever done is something I did too. There is no part of you, there will never <em>be </em>a part of you, that I don’t want, or I wouldn’t take. I love you, I love you, I love you.”</p><p> </p><p>He felt it then, that blanket coming around him. The one he’d watched Jon drape around Myrcella so many times before. It was the warmest place, apart from one other, that he’d ever been.</p><p> </p><p>Robb kissed Jon and Jon kissed him back softly.</p><p> </p><p>When they pulled apart, they both turned back toward the counter, chuckling at the vegetables amassed, as though both realizing the ridiculousness of such a life changing conversation happening in front of something as trivial as celery.</p><p> </p><p>“If Myrcella was in any doubt of <em>your </em>love,” Robb teased, “She’d only need to look at this.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon smirked, grabbing a cutting board and a knife and handing it to him. Robb grabbed a few carrots and rinsed them and then started chopping as Jon pulled vegetable broth out of the cupboard.</p><p> </p><p>“So do we saute these in the oven?” Jon asked, looking at the recipe.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon,” Robb chuckle-admonished. “You saute on the stove.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well, they should say that,” Jon grumbled.</p><p> </p><p>Robb handed him the knife and suggested, “Why don’t you start chopping, bub. I’ll handle the rest.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon nodded as though that made <em>very good sense </em>and Robb moved out of his way and grabbed a pot from a lower cabinet and placed it on the stove before grabbing some olive oil.</p><p> </p><p>“So, ‘bub’, huh?” Jon asked. “Guess I’ll have to get used to that.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, bub,” Robb grinned, “You’re gonna be hearing it for the rest of your life.”</p>
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<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Chapter 24</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm a monster who CAN NOT be stopped! Thank you so much to my loyal readers and commenters. I love this story so much but one of the reasons I love posting so often is I love sharing it with YOU. Hearing your thoughts makes such a difference and I can't thank you enough.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Say it again,” Robb urged.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Jon chuckled against his lips.</p><p> </p><p>“Say it,” Robb ordered with a grin, his hand wandering up his shirt.</p><p> </p><p>“So needy,” Jon admonished.</p><p> </p><p>“But?” Robb prompted.</p><p> </p><p>“But,” Jon sighed, “I love you anyway.”</p><p> </p><p>He caught a hint of Robb’s grin before his lips fell against his. Jon kissed him back eagerly, his palm against Robb’s cheekbone and his fingers on the shell of his ear.</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s hand moved up his shirt, zigzagging across his abs and up to his chest, resting over his heart.</p><p> </p><p>They had finished with the stew a few minutes earlier, it was just thickening on the stove, and they’d retreated to the living room as they waited for Myrcella to wake up from the nap she was hopefully taking. The dark circles under her eyes this morning had told him that she hadn’t slept, and she’d looked nearly ill after the detective had left.</p><p> </p><p>She felt guilty, of all things. As though this could even begin to be her fault. He knew though that she was on top of that terrified. Not for herself, because that would be far too reasonable even for her pragmatic nature, but for them.</p><p> </p><p>They’d have to talk about it. But he craved the absolution Robb’s hands and lips provided so he hooked his leg over his and pulled him closer.</p><p> </p><p>He felt Robb’s smile against his lips and then he was being pulled so that he was straddling him. Jon deepened the kiss, slipping his tongue against Robb’s.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Mmm</em>,” Robb moaned, his hands moving down and squeezing Jon’s ass.</p><p> </p><p>His body reacted to him immediately. He could feel that bolt of pleasure at even this limited contact and he was hard already.</p><p> </p><p>Jon grabbed the hem of Robb’s t shirt and pulled it up, revealing his gorgeous body. Robb lifted his arms and let him take it off of him and Jon looked at his naked chest.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re perfect,” Jon sighed, having thought it before but never said it out loud.</p><p> </p><p>Robb blushed and Jon ran his hands down his chest and abs and back. He was rubbing so hard he left pink marks against Robb’s fair skin, and he could feel Robb’s hardness against him.</p><p> </p><p>“Speaking of perfection…” Robb noted and then started pushing up his sweater.</p><p> </p><p>Jon pulled it off of him and felt Robb’s hands on his waist, pulling him up so he was kneeling above him. Jon sighed when he felt Robb’s lips on his chest and abs, his hands moving off his waist and squeezing his butt again.</p><p> </p><p>Jon threaded his fingers into Robb’s soft curls looking down at Robb’s long eyelashes and noble nose and red, pillowy lips.</p><p> </p><p>Robb nuzzled against his chest and then licked his nipple, smiling against it when Jon bucked in surprise.</p><p> </p><p>“I love the way your body reacts to me,” Robb told him, looking up at him and squeezing his butt again.</p><p> </p><p>Jon lowered himself so that their hard cocks were against one another and his lips were just above Robb’s. He left them there, waiting, and it felt like victory when Robb leaned forward and took them in his.</p><p> </p><p>Jon rocked against him and Robb let out a groan, his body all but shaking as he kissed him harder.</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s hand went down his sweatpants and stroked him and Jon saw stars.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Fuck me</em>,” Jon pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>Robb looked up at him and shook his head, his eyes full of desire and a bit of mischief. And then an arm was wrapped around his back, lifting him and turning them so that Robb was on top.</p><p> </p><p>Jon breathed him in, admiring his chest and arms and abs. He licked at them and rubbed his perfect ass, feeling Robb’s hardness against him.</p><p> </p><p>He was going to pull at his sweatpants but he watched in wonder as Robb inched down, lowering himself until he was kneeling on the floor.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll fuck you,” Robb promised. Jon cupped his cheek, letting his thumb trace along Robb’s bottom lip. Robb took it inside his mouth and sucked on it, pulling off with a <em>pop</em>. His eyes were nearly black when he said, “After you cum in my mouth.”</p><p> </p><p>“For fucks sake, Robb,” Jon whimpered.</p><p> </p><p>Robb kissed his stomach and abs and chest, “Don’t you want to cum in my mouth, bub?”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Yes</em>,” Jon groaned as Robb’s hand rubbed his cock through his pants.</p><p> </p><p>Robb rubbed him more purposefully, “Tell me you want your cock in my mouth.”</p><p> </p><p>He’d watched him play this game with Myrcella, the way he drove her half mad with want sometimes before even touching her. Making her beg for a spanking or for his cock inside of her.</p><p> </p><p>She always gave in, and Jon knew he was just as helpless against him.</p><p> </p><p>“I want my cock in your mouth,” he confessed without any hesitation.</p><p> </p><p>Robb gave him that knee-buckling grin and pulled down his sweats. Jon was hard to the point of embarrassment, but Robb merely looked at him in hunger.</p><p> </p><p>He took him in his mouth and Jon moaned in appreciation. There was no preamble or tentativeness, just Robb’s warm, wet mouth engulfing him.</p><p> </p><p>“Fuck, love,” Jon groaned.</p><p> </p><p>Robb took hold of his hand and Jon interlaced their fingers. His lips glided up and down Jon’s cock and Jon put his feet up on the coffee table, his other hand in Robb’s hair.</p><p> </p><p>He felt himself at the back of Robb’s throat and he moaned in delight, doing his best not to thrust into him. Jon closed his eyes and focused on the noises Robb’s mouth was making and the feel of him moving up and down. If he looked at him too, he knew he’d come immediately.</p><p> </p><p>His mouth was perfect and eager and Jon gave into the sensation of his adoration. With his eyes closed his other senses were heightened which was why he heard Myrcella’s door opening softly.</p><p> </p><p>His eyes opened and he lost his control then and he did thrust into Robb’s mouth, “<em>Holy fuck</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella was standing in her doorway, her hair mussed from sleep, wearing a pale pink satin bra and matching panties.</p><p> </p><p>Robb looked up and then popped off his cock so that he could turn to look at her.</p><p> </p><p>“That is not what I put you to bed wearing, sweetheart,” Robb teased her, with a note of satisfaction in his voice, “In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that before. Give us a spin.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiled her beautiful smile, wholly unembarrassed and turned in a circle. The panties were boy shorts and the bottoms of her perky butt cheeks peeked out.</p><p> </p><p>“I’d remember that,” Jon agreed.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s new,” she allowed and walked over to them and knelt on the couch beside him, brushing his hair back from his face, “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh no?” Jon wondered, “You thought you’d just sneak in unnoticed?”</p><p> </p><p>She giggled and nodded, “Mmhm, that’s right.”</p><p> </p><p>He leaned up and kissed her and sighed in relief as her body fell against his. There was nothing like the feel of her in his arms, her soft lips against his.</p><p> </p><p>All at once Robb’s mouth returned to his cock and Jon moaned into her mouth, gripping her harsher than he meant to. She didn’t complain and her hands moved into his hair, kissing him sweetly, her gentle kisses an intoxicating contradiction to Robb’s fervent attentions.</p><p> </p><p>Jon broke their kiss and kissed her cheek and warm neck and collarbone and her edible shoulders. He looked to kiss her again, but her eyes were on Robb.</p><p> </p><p>“Stand up and I’ll do that to you,” he moaned, his hand stroking through Robb’s hair, and his head thrown back against the couch.</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head, a rarity, but then her eyes looked into his, “I want a taste.”</p><p> </p><p>He felt Robb groan on his cock and it took all of his concentration not to come in that moment.</p><p> </p><p>Robb pulled off of him and looked up at her, fire in his eyes, “You want his cock, don’t you, sweetheart?”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella nodded, “Can I?”</p><p> </p><p>She was asking Robb, not him, but he answered anyway, “Fuck yes.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella giggled and turned around on her knees and bent over, licking up his shaft. Her tongue circled his tip and then she took him inside of her mouth.</p><p> </p><p>It was smaller than Robb’s and couldn’t fit as much of him, but her hand wrapped around his shaft and followed her lips.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Mmm baby,</em>” he moaned.</p><p> </p><p>“You look so good with his cock in your mouth,” Robb told her and then looked at him, “And you look so good with your cock in her mouth.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon rubbed the small of her back as her soft lips glided up and down him, her tongue lathering him. He moved his hand up and took hold of her golden hair, feeling it in against his fingers.</p><p> </p><p>And then he yanked it accidentally, when he felt Robb’s tongue at his base as Myrcella focused on his tip. She moaned on him and Jon cried out when Robb sucked on his balls.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Fuck, fuck, fuck</em>,” he pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>They were relentless, their tongues and lips and hands.</p><p> </p><p>He looked to his left and her glorious ass was right there and something took over him as they both worshipped his cock and he spanked her hard.</p><p> </p><p>She let out a delighted moan around him, making him see stars, but that pleasure was short lived as Grey Wind hopped on the couch, sneering.</p><p> </p><p>“What the fuck?” he wondered.</p><p> </p><p>Though Grey Wind could be fearsome to others, he’d never so much as nipped him as a puppy. Even more surprising was the way Ghost had come in between them, until Jon was no longer even touching Myrcella and she was pushed back against the arm of the couch.</p><p> </p><p>Robb put his arm out in front of Grey Wind and explained, “You can’t spank her in front of them. Even that hair pull. Ghost bit my ass one time when I did it.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay, okay,” Jon nodded, holding out his hands for the dogs to sniff.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s okay, babies,” Myrcella promised, stroking both of their heads until their sneers had dissipated. “It’s alright.” She looked at him and stroked his cheek then, as Ghost and Grey Wind moved away, “Are you alright?”</p><p> </p><p>Jon nodded, “Yeah I’ve just… never seen anything like it.”</p><p> </p><p>She winced, “They’re on edge because of today. I’m sorry.”</p><p> </p><p>He smiled at her and stroked her cheek, pulling her to him gently, even more gently than he usually would and kissed her softly.</p><p> </p><p>“I love how they love you,” he promised, meaning it.</p><p> </p><p>She was such a wonder. He wasn’t sure there was any beast she couldn’t tame entirely.</p><p> </p><p>“You were so close,” she lamented, stroking his cheek in concern.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t worry sweetheart,” Robb assured her, “I’ve got him.”</p><p> </p><p>He and Myrcella turned and watched as Robb’s mouth returned to him. He bobbed up and down on his cock and Jon’s breath cracked and his eyes clouded. His head fell back against the couch, his hand resting on the back of Robb’s head.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re so close,” Myrcella murmured, her soft body against him, her lips at his temple, “Are you going to come in his mouth?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes, <em>yes, baby,</em>” he moaned.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Mmm I’m jealous,</em>” she teased in his ear, “You’ll have to promise to give me a taste later.”</p><p> </p><p><em>“Yes, yes, ye-oh fuck</em>,” he groaned as his orgasm took over.</p><p> </p><p>He exploded into Robb’s mouth, which kept working on him all the way through it.</p><p> </p><p>Jon placed his hand on Robb’s shoulder to stop him and he pulled off, making Jon all but jump off the couch. He fell back against it instead though as Robb got off the floor and sat down on his other side and pulled him towards him.</p><p> </p><p>He placed a lingering, panting, kiss to Robb’s lips, tasting himself on them. Robb kissed his forehead and then shifted them so that his back was against Robb’s chest, Robb’s arms around him.</p><p> </p><p>Jon looked over at Myrcella and stroked her cheek, tucking some hair behind her ear.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you sleep, baby?” he wondered.</p><p> </p><p>“A little,” she promised.</p><p> </p><p>He wasn’t going to get much more than that so he rubbed Robb’s leg and told him, “You’re overdressed,” and then he looked at Myrcella, “As are you.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiled, “You don’t like my outfit?”</p><p> </p><p>Robb chuckled and told Myrcella, “If it wasn’t covering your naked body, I’d love it.”</p><p> </p><p>She blushed and Robb swiped his finger up the trail of it. He leaned in and kissed her and Jon watched as she opened her mouth to him, licking Robb’s tongue. Tasting him. It made him ravenous.</p><p> </p><p>“I like it,” Jon assured her as they parted, pulling her into his lap. Her body was still warm from sleep and he pressed more kisses to her collarbone and shoulder, “It makes you look like the delicious confection you are. Makes me want a taste.”</p><p> </p><p>She looked up at him with cloudy eyes, “<em>Jon</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“You are so fucking beautiful,” Robb almost admonished her.</p><p> </p><p>“What he said,” Jon agreed and then teased, “Just slightly less accusatory.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella’s giggle died on her lips as he slipped his hand underneath her underwear. She was so wet that he groaned, rubbing her gently before entering her with two fingers.</p><p> </p><p>And then she let out a noise he’d very rarely heard from her. A stomach growl.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my,” Myrcella covered her face with her hands. She split apart two of her fingers and pleaded, “Don’t laugh at me.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not laughing at you, baby,” he promised, though he was smiling. He told her truthfully, “I’m just… relieved you have an appetite.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella looked around and then sniffed, “Did you guys cook?”</p><p> </p><p>“Robb cooked, I chopped,” he admitted.</p><p> </p><p>“He was a very big help,” Robb argued, and Jon turned to him in time for Robb to kiss his lips.</p><p> </p><p>“You cooked,” she cooed.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>It’s vegetarian</em>,” he whispered.</p><p> </p><p>Her mouth dropped open and she leaned against him and pressed a kiss to his cheek, “You really <em>do </em>love me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Told you,” Robb chuckled. Then turned to her, and the relief was evident in his voice too, “Let’s get you something you eat, sweetheart. I can always go kill a deer for me and Jon later.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon shook his head, looking into her eyes, “I’m sure I’ll find <em>something </em>to satisfy me.”</p><p> </p><p>Her mouth dropped open and Jon was surprised that his stomach didn’t growl for her. He felt her moisture on his fingers and went to raise them both to his lips but Robb took hold of his wrist. Jon smirked and separated his fingers, and he took one in his mouth as Robb took the other.</p><p> </p><p>She was pure honey and Robb murmured his appreciation around his finger.</p><p> </p><p>It would have been easy to get lost in it, her, but the truth was there was nothing in this world either of them wanted more than for her to be healthy and well, so Jon helped her up.  </p><p> </p><p>He and Robb followed and he pulled on his sweatpants as Robb and Myrcella walked into the kitchen ahead of him.</p><p> </p><p>He looked at the dogs, “Come.”</p><p> </p><p>They both got up immediately and came over to him and sat when he ordered it. He knelt down and stroked their heads.</p><p> </p><p>“We good?” he asked them.</p><p> </p><p>Ghost nuzzled against his hand and Grey Wind let out that sound that was almost like a purr.</p><p> </p><p>“Good boys,” he murmured, “That’s good boys.”</p><p> </p><p>He stood up and walked into the kitchen, to find Myrcella setting the table as Robb filled glasses with water. They were both half-dressed and more beautiful than any two people had any right to be, and they were his.</p><p> </p><p>“It smells <em>delicious</em>,” Myrcella grinned.</p><p> </p><p>Jon couldn’t disagree, so he pulled out a ladle and grabbed the crusty, homemade bread Cat had dropped off the other day. Robb served them all portions and they settled in around the table.</p><p> </p><p>They both watched as Myrcella raised her spoon to her lips and tasted it.</p><p> </p><p>“Stop watching me and eat!” she ordered, “Before I lap it all up. It’s so <em>good</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>He and Robb grinned at each other and tried it as well. The simmering had helped and the flavors had melded, and it really was delicious.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re a genius,” he informed Robb.</p><p> </p><p>Robb shook his head, “Look at the way this carrot is chopped. I held you back.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella giggled and got up, grabbing a knife to cut the bread and the butter out of the fridge.</p><p> </p><p>“Our next place should have a bigger kitchen,” she told them, “To make room for all this <em>talent</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon smirked, accepting the piece of bread she handed him.</p><p> </p><p>Robb looked at her, “Our next place, huh?”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella nodded, sitting down, “Yes. Unless, of course, I <em>misheard </em>you earlier.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb looked at him and stroked his cheek, and told Myrcella, “No sweetheart, you heard right.”</p><p> </p><p>“Creepy little thing though, isn’t she?” Jon teased.</p><p> </p><p>Robb chuckled and let his hand drop to his shoulder, squeezing it.</p><p> </p><p>“She’s been rooting for us,” Robb explained.</p><p> </p><p>Jon looked at Myrcella and she smiled deeply into his eyes and shrugged, “I didn’t think there could be anything better than you both loving me. But I was wrong.”</p><p> </p><p>“A house, maybe,” he told her then, because what else could you say to that. What could he possibly say to explain how wholly he loved her. Loved them both. “With a big wrap around porch.”</p><p> </p><p>Her grin widened as a tear fell out of her eye, and Robb wiped it off her cheek and mused, “And a fireplace, downstairs and in the bedroom, too.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella bit her lip and smiled, “I’d like to discuss a cat.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s definitely something we can discuss,” Robb nodded at her and then turned to him and shook his head <em>no</em>.</p><p> </p><p>Jon chuckled as Myrcella tossed her napkin at Robb’s face and Robb started listing all the things they’d get <em>before </em>a cat. He tuned out around <em>naked mole rat </em>and imagined them in a big sprawling house near Winterfell, or a little townhouse in this neighborhood, so they could all be near work.</p><p> </p><p>They’d get her a cat, he knew. Robb would likely start looking online after dinner. And he’d find him a home with a fireplace in the bedroom.</p><p> </p><p>Jon would like the wrap around porch, where they could sit on warm summer nights, and Myrcella would insist they decorate with lights every winter, but there were only two non-negotiables, two things not up for discussion.</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t tell them that though. He just listened as they teased him, telling him they’d find an all-black house with a room just for brooding in.</p><p> </p><p>“A big bed,” Myrcella added a requirement.</p><p> </p><p>“Not <em>too </em>big,” Jon corrected.</p><p> </p><p>“And you two in it,” Robb agreed.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>okay okay okay so that was *mostly* smut but I felt like after the last chapter we needed a little breather, no?</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Chapter 25</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>okay okay okay I knowww I already posted a ch today but it's New Years and I just wanted to post this one so I AM. If you haven't yet read the chapter I posted earlier TURN AROUND!!</p><p>Happy New Year everyone, I hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Myrcella held up a diamond earring to one ear and a gold earring to the other. She twisted her neck this way and that before deciding on the diamond and placing it and then its mate through her ears.</p><p> </p><p>She swiped underneath her eye and then across her cheek, making sure her blush was smoothed.</p><p> </p><p>“You look beautiful,” Jon noted, and she smiled at him in the mirror of her vanity. It dropped though when he said, “I still don’t like this.”</p><p> </p><p>“We’ve talked about this,” she reminded him, as she spritzed some perfume on her brush and then pulled it through her hair.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, and I don’t understand why one of us can’t take you,” Robb noted from where he sat next to Jon at the side of her bed.</p><p> </p><p>“Because,” she sighed getting up from her seat and picking up the necklace Jon had given her and walking towards them, “It’s an afternoon tea for Women in Leadership.”</p><p> </p><p>“I drink tea!” Jon argued, “And I… love women leaders.”</p><p> </p><p>She smirked and Robb said, “Yeah sweetheart, you know I love a woman on top.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella tried not to laugh but it didn’t work. She went and stood in front of Jon and handed him the necklace and turned around.</p><p> </p><p>He sighed but placed it around her neck and set the clasp for her. Her fingers reached up and touched one of the pearls, feeling that contentment she always felt when she did. It was like taking him with her whenever she wore it.</p><p> </p><p>It was also the piece that she got more compliments on than any other, and completed her outfit perfectly. She wore a winter white cashmere wrap sweater and matching slim wool pants.</p><p> </p><p>Jon pulled her into his lap and she wrapped an arm around his shoulder as Robb pulled her legs over his.</p><p> </p><p>“At least let us drive you,” Robb suggested.</p><p> </p><p>She rolled her eyes, “No.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why not?” Jon asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Because <em>Daddy</em>,” she argued, “I’m not in elementary school.”</p><p> </p><p>“Call him that again,” Robb pleaded.</p><p> </p><p>She giggled, “No.”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay fine… call me that,” Robb teased.</p><p> </p><p>She palmed his face and he nipped the heel of her palm, making her squeal.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella looked at Jon and saw no humor in his face and reminded him, “Officer Oakheart is going to drive me <em>to </em>the tea and <em>from </em>the tea. We discussed this. Many. Many. <em>Many </em>times.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well why don’t you have him bring you out to Winterfell when you’re done?” Robb suggested.</p><p> </p><p>“I… I can’t keep having this discussion,” she told them. “I love you both. I know you love me. But I need you to… ease up. You heard what Chief Cassel said this morning, they have a lead.”</p><p> </p><p>“They’ve <em>had a lead </em>for a month now,” Robb reminded her. His face softened though and he said, “I know we’re crowding you. But El… he was <em>across the street from you</em>. He was in our building. You need to stop acting like we’re <em>overreacting</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>She looked at Jon and saw that they were a united front on this. It was hard to argue with Robb when he was being so logical so she merely stood up and grabbed one of her grandmother’s vintage purses out of the closet and started filling it with the necessary items.</p><p> </p><p>“Another officer will be patrolling out here while I’m gone. If anything seems suspicious, he’ll let Arys know and he’ll drive me straight out to Winterfell, alright?” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>Jon and Robb looked at one another, having one of their silent conversations and then nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” she said, placing her cell phone in the bag, “Give Ned and Cat my best. I’ll see you two later.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb stood up, “I’ll walk you out.” She fixed him with a look, and he said, “I want to get the dogs outside quickly anyway. You wouldn’t deny <em>them </em>a chance to pee just so you can prove a point, now would you?”</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t answer because <em>no </em>she would <em>not </em>deny the dogs anything just to prove a point. She went into her closet and pulled out the lavender wool coat she could finally wear now that the ice was starting to thaw.</p><p> </p><p>“Bye baby,” she said with a kiss to Jon’s cheek.</p><p> </p><p>“Love you,” he said against hers.</p><p> </p><p>“Love <em>you</em>,” she promised with a squeeze to his arm and then left her room with Robb on her heels.</p><p> </p><p>He grabbed the dogs leashes but didn’t bother putting them on as they walked down the stairs.</p><p> </p><p>“So, are you being honored at this thing?” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” she smiled, “I was lucky just to be invited. Barristan must have pulled some strings.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yeah,” Robb chuckled, “That must be it.”</p><p> </p><p>She blushed but said nothing, opening the front door. Officer Arys Oakheart was dressed in plain clothes, waiting against his SUV.</p><p> </p><p>“Sorry to keep you waiting, Officer Oakheart,” she apologized, “I had to push a pull door.”</p><p> </p><p>The police officer gave her a bemused expression but Robb chuckled and placed his hand on the back of her head and kissed her cheek.</p><p> </p><p>“Have fun, sweetheart,” he said.</p><p> </p><p>“Love you,” she said softly.</p><p> </p><p>“And I you,” he promised in her ear. “Thanks, Officer Oakheart. Call us if anything comes up.”</p><p> </p><p>“Will do,” the police officer said, “But I’ll guard her with my life.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella’s stomach twisted but she smiled at both of them and pet Ghost and Grey Wind, promising to see them later.</p><p> </p><p>Though she was perfectly capable and Officer Oakheart was standing right there, Robb went forward and opened the passenger door for her so she got in. He didn’t close the door until she’d settled in and didn’t step back until Officer Oakheart was also in the car.</p><p> </p><p>She gave him a wave as the car was started and looked in her mirror as she was driven away. Robb was still standing there when they turned the corner.</p><p> </p><p>“So, what is this event I’m taking you to?” Officer Oakheart asked.</p><p> </p><p>He was the kindest that she’d met in the Wintertown Police Force. He’d come to her office the day Ramsay’s <em>present </em>had been found, and had always been gentler than the other officers, letting her or Robb or Jon control the pacing of the questions.</p><p> </p><p>“A Women in Leadership afternoon tea,” she answered. “Next time you’re on duty I’ll go to a wrestling match or something.”</p><p> </p><p>He chuckled, “No problem at all, Miss Baratheon. In my line of work, the boring days are the best.”</p><p> </p><p>She gasped in faux-horror, “Are you <em>suggesting </em>that a Women in Leadership afternoon tea will be <em>boring</em>?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” he agreed, and she laughed. “They give you a hard time?”</p><p> </p><p>She sighed, “No harder than they’ve given to Chief Cassel.”</p><p> </p><p>Officer Oakheart nodded, “You know there’s no one who wants to find him more than him.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well,” Myrcella teased, “I’m not <em>entirely </em>sure that’s true.”</p><p> </p><p>He chuckled, “You’re right, I’m sorry. I just mean… we’re all behind you, Miss Baratheon.”</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” she told him earnestly.</p><p> </p><p>They chatted easily on the way there. The other thing she liked about him was that there was no judgment in his eyes, like she’d seen from the detective last week. There was no way he hadn’t seen the picture, read the message. He knew the truth of the three of them, one that he’d probably suspected already. Yet there was no trace of any condemnation. The detective had all but suggested that perhaps she’d lead Ramsay on, given her oversized desires. She had thought Robb was going to put him through a wall.</p><p> </p><p>He pulled up in front of the old hotel where the tea was being held.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll walk you in,” Arys told her.</p><p> </p><p>She glanced out the window and saw Ashara Selmy, “Oh I see my boss’ wife. Can you just watch me from here?”</p><p> </p><p>He sighed but nodded and she thanked him and exited the car.</p><p> </p><p>“Ashara!” she called brightly.</p><p> </p><p>The older woman turned to her with a beautiful smile, “My beloved.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella crossed the distance between them and Ashara took her hands in hers and they pressed kisses to each of one another’s cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>Ashara looked behind her and said, “You have an escort I see.” Myrcella blushed but nodded. Ashara smiled at her, “Good. Now unfortunately he <em>can’t </em>protect you from the vipers of high society, but that’s what you have me for.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella giggled and allowed Ashara to hook her arm through hers. The pair of them walked inside and signed in. They were discussing Ashara and Barristan’s plans for the summer – or rather, Ashara’s plan for her and Barristan’s summer – as they entered the ballroom.</p><p> </p><p>It had been decorated beautifully, and there had to be a hundred women there already.</p><p> </p><p>“Before I forget,” Ashara said, “Can you join us for dinner on Thursday night?”</p><p> </p><p>“I’d be delighted,” Myrcella agreed. “What can I bring?”</p><p> </p><p>“Those <em>delectable </em>roommates of yours,” Ashara noted. “I saw a picture of the Stark in the paper the other day. I’m surprised you can restrain yourself at all.” Myrcella blushed and Ashara turned to her and Myrcella gave her an innocent smile. “That’s my girl.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella laughed in embarrassment and promised, “I’ll make sure they’re free and confirm tomorrow. And I’ll rub them down in oil for you, alright?”</p><p> </p><p>Ashara smiled, “Yes, do.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella turned laughing as a woman she’d never met approached them. Ashara introduced them and she made an appropriate amount of small talk, admiring the floral arrangements and praising the women who were being honored before excusing herself to go greet Wylla Manderly.</p><p> </p><p>She’d met Wylla when she’d approached her father’s company about increasing their involvement and they’d taken a shine to one another. She was striking always but particularly here, with her bright green hair, but she had such ease about her that none of the bejeweled doyennes of society spared her even a look of judgment.</p><p> </p><p>They made the rounds together and Myrcella was surprised by how many of the women she knew. She’d only been in the north for half a year and had spent much of that time with Jon and Robb in bed, yet she somehow knew half of the attendees and recognized the other half.</p><p> </p><p>She settled into her seat, next to Ashara who set about filling her in on a few leads until the speeches started. They were pleasant, if not a bit rote, and she sipped her jasmine tea, smiling at Wylla who rolled her eyes at her from across the room.</p><p> </p><p>As the tea ended she made her goodbyes, and Ashara walked her out to Officer Oakheart’s car.</p><p> </p><p>He got out of the car and opened the door for her, “Did you enjoy yourself, Miss Baratheon?”</p><p> </p><p>“I did, thank you, Officer Oakheart,” she agreed, “May I introduce Ashara Selmy?”</p><p> </p><p>“Lovely to meet you, Officer Oakheart,” Ashara greeted him with a shake of her hand. “Look out for this one. She’s precious.”</p><p> </p><p>Officer Oakheart smiled and said, “So I’ve been told.”</p><p> </p><p>“Call me about Thursday,” Ashara told her with a kiss to her cheek.</p><p> </p><p>“Of course, tell Barristan I say hello,” she said with a kiss to hers.</p><p> </p><p>She got in the car and Officer Oakheart pulled away from the curb.</p><p> </p><p>“Your home is all clear,” he informed her. “Just got confirmation.”</p><p> </p><p>She smiled, “Thank you.”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella pulled out her phone and told Jon and Robb that she was going home and that she’d see them later. She could have gone out to Winterfell, there were very few things she enjoyed more than spending time with the Starks, but the lunch had withered her social abilities and she wanted to recharge before the start of the week. She had a few important meetings tomorrow and a nice long bath would settle her nerves nicely.</p><p> </p><p>There was very little traffic and they pulled up in front of her building in no time.</p><p> </p><p>“Wait there, please,” he said.</p><p> </p><p>She did as he asked and he got out of the car, looking around and then opened her door for her. Myrcella stepped out of the car and he closed the door and then escorted her up the front steps.</p><p> </p><p>She pulled her keys out of her bag but he was already there with his copy. They’d made a set for the police since this all began, they made sweeps once a week.</p><p> </p><p>“I thought you said it was all clear?” she asked.</p><p> </p><p>“You can never be too careful, Miss,” he admitted. “With your permission?”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded and he walked up the stairs behind her and then he unlocked the door to her apartment and she stood in the doorway so that he could go inside. He filled most of the doorway and she glanced inside as he checked in the kitchen and then in Robb’s room and then walked into the living room, into her bedroom. She heard him opening her bathroom door and the closet and then went into Jon’s and the bathroom.</p><p> </p><p>“All clear,” he confirmed, and she stepped inside.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” she said, stepping out of her heels.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll be just outside if you’d like to go anywhere,” he told her, “Enjoy the peace and quiet.”</p><p> </p><p>She laughed, “Oh I will. Thank you, Officer Oakheart.”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded and left and she closed the door and locked it behind him. She went into the bathroom and turned on the water until it was hot enough and then plugged the drain and walked into her bedroom. She undressed, hanging her clothes in the closet and taking off her earrings. She went to take off her necklace but was unable to work the clasp so she left it on and twisted her hair up with a Braavosi pin.</p><p> </p><p>She grabbed her bathrobe and went into the bathroom and closed the door and turned off the water.</p><p> </p><p>The tub was nearly full of perfectly hot water and she eased herself in, tucking a towel underneath her head at the edge. She thought about getting out and getting her phone so she could listen to music, but found the quiet just as peaceful.</p><p> </p><p>She hadn’t realized how rarely she’d been alone recently. It had been mostly of her own design, she craved Jon and Robb’s company more than anything. She could no longer sleep by herself, needing to be held by one or both of the in order for her mind to truly rest.</p><p> </p><p>Even still it was nice to have this time now, where she could just be. She was glad too that they were having time together. Their relationship was so new, and even though it seemed sturdier than anything else she’d ever known, it had to be nurtured.</p><p> </p><p>She poured some jasmine oil in the tub and waded her fingers through. Jon would tuck his face in her neck and breathe her in and Robb’s fingers would trail down her spine, marveling at how soft the skin was.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella couldn’t help but laugh at herself. Even when she was alone, she was still with them. They were her every thought, as she knew she was theirs.</p><p> </p><p>When she started to prune she stood up and pulled the drain, wrapping her large fluffy towel around her. She’d have to tell Robb and Jon to add a big tub to the list for their new house. This one could never fit all of them.</p><p> </p><p>She dried off and then wrapped her robe around her and hung up her towel. Ideas of dinner floated through her head, remembering how nice it felt when they cooked for her. There was some chicken in the fridge she could use, or she could make the homemade pizza they both loved.</p><p> </p><p>As she crossed into her bedroom she looked down in surprise, having just stepped on cold water. She figured though that Officer Oakheart’s boots had tracked it in and stepped inside.</p><p> </p><p>But then a voice said, “Hello gorgeous.”</p><p> </p><p>Her blood ran cold as her eyes landed on him, “Ramsay.”</p><p> </p><p>“Look at you,” he smiled, his tone delighted, “All nice and clean from the bath.”</p><p> </p><p>“There’s an officer right outside,” she told him.</p><p> </p><p>He nodded, “Black SUV? Yes, he’s still there. Though I’m not sure he’s of much use anymore.”</p><p> </p><p>She swallowed down a sob, “You killed him?”</p><p> </p><p>He shrugged, “He saw me, what else could I do?”</p><p> </p><p>Roslin and Jeyne were likely just downstairs. If she screamed they might hear her, but that would only matter if the door was open.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you come in through the window?” she wondered.</p><p> </p><p>He smiled and shook his head, “I used the key! The one you left for me.”</p><p> </p><p>“The… the one I left for you?” she asked, stalling.</p><p> </p><p>“With the police officer,” he reminded her.</p><p> </p><p>He’d pulled them off of Officer Oakheart’s still warm body. The body that would still be alive if it weren’t for her.  </p><p> </p><p>She couldn’t dwell on that. If he had keys it meant the front door would be closed. Locked most likely. Screaming would achieve nothing except infuriating him.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ve had to wait so long, for you to be alone,” Ramsay explained, his brow furrowing in concern, “But don’t worry, I came as <em>soon </em>as I could.”</p><p> </p><p>She grimaced a smile and nodded her head.</p><p> </p><p>It was forty steps to the front door, but twenty strides if she was running. There were two locks he could have turned, and then another fifteen steps to the street. The closest business was a real estate storefront, which would be closed today. The dry cleaners was next and also closed. The nail salon was just a block further.</p><p> </p><p>If the street were full, she would be safe as soon as she got outside. If it was empty she needed forty-five seconds from the time the door closed.</p><p> </p><p>The fact that she didn’t hear screaming outside or sirens made her think that the street was empty, as no one had yet found Officer Oakheart.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t,” he said. “I can see you thinking about it. That pretty little mind of yours.”</p><p> </p><p>He said all this laid out on her bed, the picture of relaxation. She’d have a head start.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Don’t</em>,” he growled and then he lifted his hand.</p><p> </p><p>Along with the gun it was holding. Pointed right at her.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s that for?” she asked as calmly as she was able. “You… you wouldn’t hurt <em>me,</em> would you?”</p><p> </p><p>He kept his eyes on her and shook his head, “Of cour-“</p><p> </p><p>The sound of her phone ringing distracted him and she looked around for it, until he lifted it with his other hand, the gun still trained directly on her.</p><p> </p><p>She could outrun him, but the moment she turned he’d pull the trigger.  </p><p> </p><p>“Ah,” he smiled.</p><p> </p><p>He pressed <em>answer </em>and then put it on speaker phone.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Myrcella? Sweetheart you need to get to a public place. Officer Oakheart is non-responsive, they’re sending another car but you have to go now and stay until they get a hold of him.” </em></p><p>
  
</p><p>“I’m sorry,” Ramsay answered Robb for her, “Myrcella is just a <em>little </em>busy at the moment.”</p><p> </p><p>“RUN,” she heard Jon warn and she moved to listen to him but Ramsay stood off the bed waving the gun at her. Jon wasn’t talking to her though. “You better fucking run, or I will <em>skin you alive</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Fucking floor it</em>,” she heard Robb order.</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella,” Ramsay said, “I think you have something to say to them, don’t you? You won’t be seeing them anymore, will you? I did tell you I wouldn’t share you.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>DON’T FUCKING TOUCH HER</em>,” Robb was growling.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon, Robb,” she said, the fight going out of her. “I love you.”</p><p> </p><p><em>“</em>NO!,” Jon shouted as Robb was cursing uncontrollably.</p><p> </p><p>She felt tears running down her cheeks, “You… you have to love each other. You have to… you have to take care of each other.”</p><p> </p><p>That was the saddest part in all of it. This would destroy them. They’d never recover. She was damning them all.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>NO WE’RE ALM-“</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>Ramsay clicked off and then threw her phone across the room. She heard it shatter against the wall and then fall to the floor.</p><p> </p><p>She remembered what they said. There was another car on the way. The only thing to do now was stall him.</p><p> </p><p>If she ran, at best he would shoot her in the back. At worst he would merely wound her. She couldn’t think of anything worse than being incapacitated in his presence.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” she said, the tears still falling freely from her eyes. “They didn’t understand.”</p><p> </p><p>“They didn’t?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head, “But you do. Don’t you? You understand that you’re the one… the one that I need.”</p><p> </p><p>He nods, “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” she cried, “I’ve been so stubborn. I was just frightened.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of me?” he asked in concern.</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head, “No, no not of you. Never of you. Of my feelings for you. They’re… too strong.”</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my dear I understand,” he lamented. He rubbed the gun against his temple and laughed, “Even I have gotten a bit out of sorts about it.”</p><p> </p><p>“We should go,” she told him. “Before the other officer gets here. Will you let me change and then we can go? Wherever you want.”</p><p> </p><p>His jaw twitched, looking at her. She smiled at him, trailing the ties of her robe through her fingertips.</p><p> </p><p>“I just want to be perfect for you,” she let her voice go deeper, “I must look like such a mess.”</p><p> </p><p>He started to move to get off the bed and she started to wonder what she could use to barricade herself in here, how many bones she would break jumping from the window.</p><p> </p><p>He stopped though when they heard a banging on the door.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Myrcella! Myrcella open up!”</em></p><p>
  
</p><p>It was Jeyne and Roslin and she let out a sob. Jon and Robb must have called them as soon as their call had been disconnected.</p><p> </p><p>“Who is that?” he sneered.</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head, trying to take control of herself, “Just…some silly girls from downstairs. They don’t matter.”</p><p> </p><p>He got off the bed though and started walking towards her. She couldn’t help but step away from him and then she felt the wall at her back.</p><p> </p><p>“So many people,” he shook his head, “Trying to keep us apart.”</p><p> </p><p>She raised her hand to his cheek and his eyes widened, and she swallowed her revulsion and pushed away from the wall, against him. He was hard and she ignored the scream rising in her chest.</p><p> </p><p>“They don’t matter,” she shook her head, “Nothing matters, except <em>you </em>and <em>me</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“Get changed,” he ordered, “We’ll deal with them on the way out.”</p><p> </p><p><em>Run</em>, she wanted to scream, but to do so would be to sign each of their death warrants. If she died, so too would they.</p><p> </p><p>“Okay,” she agreed, looking up at the hunger in his eyes, “Would you like to watch?”</p><p> </p><p>He nodded and to her surprise stepped away from her.</p><p> </p><p>“I prefer your hair down,” he informed her, almost casually.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh,” she said, adrenaline coursing through veins. She pulled the pin out and shook her head so that it fell around her face. “Would you like to touch it?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” he nodded excitedly, stepping towards her.</p><p> </p><p>He reached a surprisingly gentle hand out and took a lock of hair between his fingertips. She kept her eyes on him, but he was looking at her hair, so she raised the hand that held the pin quickly and stabbed it into his eye.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>FUCK,</em>” he growled, stumbling back and clutching his eye.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t hesitate and turned and ran out of the room.</p><p> </p><p>“MYRCELLA,” she heard from behind her.</p><p> </p><p>And in front of her too as the door opened and Jon and Robb all but fell inside. There was relief on both of their faces for the briefest moment and then they froze in fear.</p><p> </p><p>“No!,” Robb shouted and she turned around.</p><p> </p><p>Ramsay was standing there in the living room, one hand clutching his eye and the other holding the gun, raising it at her. She held her arms out, trying to make herself as big as possible.</p><p> </p><p>She saw a flash of grey and white and the last thing she heard before her world went black was the sound of a bullet leaving the gun.</p>
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<a name="section0026"><h2>26. Chapter 26</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Happy New Year, everyone!!! </p><p>This is a long one... but it's the penultimate chapter so I thought it should be!!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>There was ringing and screaming and then the most peculiar, violent sound.</p><p> </p><p>Both he and Jon ran forward to catch Myrcella but they were too late and she crumpled to the floor. The screaming was coming from behind them, Roslin or Jeyne.</p><p> </p><p>Jon got to her first, his training taking over. Robb fell to his knees on her other side, checking her limbs and her body for any sign of harm.</p><p> </p><p>“There’s no wound,” Jon assured him and then his soul focus was on her. “Myrcella, baby, wake up. Please wake up.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb wondered if it weren’t a kindness, if they were to just let her sleep. To let her body protect her mind for a little while yet.</p><p> </p><p>She looked so young, her face that had been so distraught as she ran towards them was now smooth, her lips parted slightly as though she was just taking a nap on a summer day.</p><p> </p><p>He could still hear that sound. That peculiar, violent sound and he turned towards it.</p><p> </p><p>Ghost and Grey Wind had been on their heels as they raced up the stairs but had overtaken them quickly. They had been too long domesticated, too long taken from their true nature, and it came back with a vengeance when the gun was raised against her.</p><p> </p><p>They had lunged and leapt, Ramsay firing the gun in surprise as he was tackled to the ground.</p><p> </p><p>Robb got up, “Grey Wind, Ghost.”</p><p> </p><p>Their faces were bloody as they released his body from their jaws, but they did release it. They sat, on either side of Ramsay, their eyes trained on him.</p><p> </p><p>Robb walked nearer and saw Ramsay’s one remaining eye open. His throat had been all but torn out, amongst other things, and his face was frozen in surprise, blood splattered up his cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s dead,” he realized.</p><p> </p><p>Jon didn’t answer him and Robb turned around to find him still trying to rouse her.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s dead,” he repeated, not sure that Jon had heard.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Good</em>,” Jon merely growled, his focus on Myrcella.</p><p> </p><p>Robb stepped forward, wanting to kick the gun from his hand in case he was somehow wrong.</p><p> </p><p>“DON’T TOUCH HIM,” Jon yelled and Robb stepped away quickly.</p><p> </p><p>He turned back and returned to them, kneeling back on the ground at her side.</p><p> </p><p>“Maybe just let her –,” Robb started.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Jon argued and then looked at him, “She needs to wake up while it’s just us.”</p><p> </p><p>He was right. She had to wake up before the police arrived. It would only make her slightly more oriented, but he knew from their experience so far that they officers would not be gentle as they questioned her.</p><p> </p><p>“Sweetheart,” he stroked her soft cheek, biting back tears. “Sweetheart wake up. You’re safe now. Please wake up.”</p><p> </p><p>He saw her face twitch slightly and Jon’s hand moved under waist and neck and lifted her. Robb moved forward and pulled her against him, cradling her against his chest.</p><p> </p><p>“Baby, it’s Jon,” Jon said, kissing her temple, “It’s Jon and Robb, we need you to wake up now. Please, Myrcella. Please come back to us.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb held her but stroked Jon’s back as he leaned over her. They had been fighting ever since they got the call from Chief Cassel. Angry at the police and her and each other and themselves most of all.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes opened briefly, only to shut once again.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s alright,” he promised, “You’re alright, sweetheart.”</p><p> </p><p>And then it wasn’t just him and Jon there, but Ghost and Grey Wind too. Sniffing her as though they too were checking for signs of harm.</p><p> </p><p>Grey Wind’s attentions spread blood across her cheek while Ghost’s dirtied her hands. It was a garish red against her perfect fair skin, but her eyes blinked open then.</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella,” he cried.</p><p> </p><p>She reached up to touch his face, her brows knit in confusion but then she saw the blood and dropped the hand quickly.</p><p> </p><p>“Baby,” Jon said gently, “I’m so sorry.”</p><p> </p><p>She opened her mouth to answer but then they heard boots on the stairs and two police officers barged in.</p><p> </p><p>They ran straight to Ramsay and then said something into their radios, so he and Jon worked on getting her up. It was as though her bones were made out of rubber, and they all but dragged her over to the couch where they sat her in between them.</p><p> </p><p>“Call your Dad,” Jon urged him. “He should be here while we answer questions.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb grabbed his phone and dialed his Dad’s number. Cassel had already called him though and he was minutes away, cursing in a way Robb had never heard him do. He’d had to assure him that none of them were hurt four times before he got him off the phone.</p><p> </p><p>“Miss -,” an officer started to ask.</p><p> </p><p>“Not yet,” Robb denied him.</p><p> </p><p>“She’s going to have to answer our questions,” his partner informed him.</p><p> </p><p>“She will,” Jon agreed, “After you answer some of ours. The first of which is: how the <em>fuck </em>did you let this happen?”</p><p> </p><p>He knew they would never answer that, they <em>could </em>never answer that, and with one of their own dead downstairs they likely wouldn’t even try.</p><p> </p><p>Robb looked at Myrcella who had folded her hands in her lap, her shoulders hunched, her robe pulled over her knees to cover as much of herself as possible.</p><p> </p><p>Robb stroked her hair gently and was surprised when she flinched.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry,” he said but she covered one of his hands with one of hers, comforting him even now.</p><p> </p><p>She still said nothing though.</p><p> </p><p>There was a slight commotion in the hallway and both he and Jon curled around Myrcella, but a second later his Dad followed by Chief Cassel and another few officers entered their apartment.</p><p> </p><p>“Dad,” he said, fighting the urge to cry.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey kids,” his Dad said gently. He focused on Myrcella, “Are you hurt, angel?” Myrcella shook her head and his Dad nodded and then turned to Cassel. “Only the bare minimum.”</p><p> </p><p>The chief nodded, though he bristled slightly and went to sit in Jon’s chair. The look Jon gave him must have made him think otherwise because he looked around before one of his deputies brought him one from the kitchen which he sat in.</p><p> </p><p>“First things first,” Cassel said, “Is anyone hurt?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well there’s a dead body over there,” Robb answered petulantly.</p><p> </p><p>“Robb,” his Dad admonished.</p><p> </p><p>“No,” Jon answered. “None of us are hurt.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re going to have to let her answer some questions,” he warned them.</p><p> </p><p>Had he not already received a warning from his father he might have said <em>good luck</em>. As it was he wrapped his arm around Myrcella’s waist, relieved when she didn’t flinch away from him. He felt Jon’s arm already there and he squeezed it, feeling Jon press back against him.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry,” Myrcella spoke for the first time, her voice surprisingly clear. Every man in the room stopped what they were doing and turned to look at her. She was looking at Cassel though and said, “About Officer Oakheart. I’m truly sorry.”</p><p> </p><p>He turned his hand so that he could squeeze hers. He wanted to tell her that he loved her and that he was sorry and that she had more grace in a single strand of hair than most people had in their entire bodies. All he could do though was squeeze her hand, so he did.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, Miss Baratheon,” Chief Cassel said, and to his credit he seemed awed by her as well. “He assessed the risks and he deemed it safe. He wouldn’t have brought you here otherwise. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella nodded though Robb doubted she was taking it to heart. It was not in her nature to forgive herself for something like that, nor to see it as anything but her fault. She was not the sort of person who would accept that she had been in Oakheart’s charge, rather than he in hers.</p><p> </p><p>“Can you walk me through what happened when you came home?” Cassel asked.</p><p> </p><p>Robb glanced at his Dad but his Dad nodded, his eyes never leaving Myrcella’s face.</p><p> </p><p>“I… we came inside. Officer Oakheart checked all of the rooms and left. I locked the door behind him and drew a bath. I undressed. Took a bath. Probably for a half hour. I got out and returned to my room and I felt-“</p><p> </p><p>She stopped then and Robb gulped. Had Ramsay grabbed her? Had he touched her perfect, sacred body?</p><p> </p><p>“There was cold water on the floor,” she went on, “I felt it under my foot. I thought it had been tracked in by Officer Oakheart’s boots.”</p><p> </p><p>“It could have been,” Jon told her.</p><p> </p><p>“What happened then, Miss Baratheon?” Chief Cassel pressed.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella was silent and Robb felt the bones of her back protrude as she hunched over even further, her hand twisting in his. Her entire body was trying to expunge the memory, as her mouth stayed stubbornly closed.</p><p> </p><p>Ghost and Grey Wind sat up then and laid their bloodied faces on her lap. She looked down at them and her free hand stroked one head and then the other, and he felt her back straighten once again.</p><p> </p><p>“He was in my bed. I didn’t see it right away but he was holding a gun. He confessed to killing Officer Oakheart. I tried to… to stall him so I could figure out how to get out. Robb and Jon called to warn me. He hung up on them and threw my phone against the wall. And I tried to get him out of my room, saying I wanted to change, I was hoping to barricade the door but-“</p><p> </p><p>“But what, Miss Baratheon?” Cassel asked as gently as he seemed able.</p><p> </p><p>“Our neighbors from downstairs, Jeyne Poole and Roslin Frey, started banging on the door trying to help me,” she confessed.</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s stomach sunk and he looked at Jon whose eyes looked almost hollow. They’d been trying to help her but of course she had been helping herself. She could have died, if Ramsay had been spooked, she could have died because they’d been stupid enough to think they could help.</p><p> </p><p>“How did he react?” Cassel asked.</p><p> </p><p>“He wanted to know who they were,” she admitted, “He… wanted to kill them and I convinced him to wait.”</p><p> </p><p>“How?” Cassel asked.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s not relevant,” his Dad stepped in.</p><p> </p><p>“With due respect, Mr. Stark, we don’t know what’s relevant until we hear it,” Cassel told him.</p><p> </p><p>“Relevant to what?” Robb growled. “He broke into our home. He was in her bed. He had a gun. Now he is dead along with one of your officers. What can you possibly glean from their conversation that those facts do not make perfectly clear?”</p><p> </p><p>Cassel ignored him and looked at Myrcella, “I’m on your side, Miss Baratheon. But I need a picture I can sell to anyone who asks. I need to do my job so no one else steps in to do it for me.”</p><p> </p><p>“I understand,” Myrcella assured him. “I… I’m just so ashamed.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb swallowed back a sob as Jon said something in her ear. He saw her nodding and then she turned back to Cassel.</p><p> </p><p>“I knew that if he left the room he would kill them,” she said in a stronger voice, “So barricading myself was no longer an option. I dist- I offered to undress in front of him instead.”</p><p> </p><p>There was a violent crack in his heart and it took him a moment to realize that it was him releasing the sob he’d been stifling. It was quick, and violent and Myrcella went on as though she hadn’t heard it, clearly desperate to conclude her questioning.</p><p> </p><p>“He told me that he preferred my hair down – it was up, I’m not sure if I said that, forgive me,” she went on, “And so I took it down and he… touched it. He was so focused on it and my hair had been held up by a pin.”</p><p> </p><p>“You had the pin in your hand then?” Cassel asked.</p><p> </p><p>Though it was obvious what she had done with it, what she had been forced to do with it, with this many witnesses he couldn’t lead her. Not even slightly.</p><p> </p><p>“I…,” she started, but seemed unable to go on.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you <em>protect yourself from a violent predator with a gun </em>with your hair pin, the <em>only weapon at your disposal,</em>” he said, because there was no rule against him leading her. He couldn’t think of a way to water down the next, so he finished clinically, “By stabbing him in the eye with it?”</p><p> </p><p>She looked in his eyes, “I…”</p><p> </p><p>“A simple confirmation or denial will do, Miss Baratheon,” Cassel assured her.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” she confirmed.</p><p> </p><p>“What happened then?” Cassel asked.</p><p> </p><p>“I turned to run,” she said confidently and then her brow furrowed.</p><p> </p><p>“And then?” Cassel asked.</p><p> </p><p>She was silent for a moment and Robb turned to look at her as did Jon. She looked in between them and shook her head.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t remember, I’m sorry,” she admitted.</p><p> </p><p>“She ran out of the room,” Robb said.</p><p> </p><p>“We came in the apartment as she got into the living room,” Jon went on. “Ramsay was right on her heels and Robb shouted to warn her or stop him I’m not sure. She turned around and um…”</p><p> </p><p>“She,” Robb continued and then also broke off.</p><p> </p><p>“She,” Jon started again his voice hollow, and the tears were falling freely from Robb’s eyes, “She spread her arms to um… to try to protect us, because he was pointing the gun ready to shoot.”</p><p> </p><p>“How do you know he was ready to shoot?” Cassel asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Because the gun went off,” Jon answered efficiently. “His finger was on the trigger and when he fell back, he pulled it.”</p><p> </p><p>“What made him fall back?” Cassel asked.</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s jaw clenched as did Jon’s. With a savaged throat and bloody snouts though there was little they could do to hide the truth.</p><p> </p><p>“The dogs aren’t violent,” Jon said.</p><p> </p><p>Cassel sighed, “It’s hard to paint them as docile with this mess.”</p><p> </p><p>“Is it?” Myrcella asked, more strength in her voice than he’d yet heard. “Look at them now.”</p><p> </p><p>Cassel begrudgingly looked at where Ghost and Grey Wind were covering her body with theirs.</p><p> </p><p>“They’ve never so much as bitten anyone before,” Robb agreed. “Even Ramsay… he approached her in the coffee shop that time and all they did was growl and bare their teeth, though they could obviously smell what he was.”</p><p> </p><p>“I understand but-,” Cassel started.</p><p> </p><p>“No you don’t,” Myrcella argued. “They can feel my nerves right now, they can feel Jon’s anger. Robb’s. Ned’s. And it’s all directed at you. I don’t say that to be rude, I’m trying to explain. The dogs can feel <em>all </em>of that and yet here they sit. Because you’re not a threat to our safety.”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not suggesting they are rabid,” he assured her, “But they are a ticking time bomb.”</p><p> </p><p>“So was Ramsay,” Myrcella told him, all cooperation drained from her voice. “And yet for months he evaded you. I’m on your side, Chief Cassel, I assure you. But I will have to paint a picture to anyone who asks. I need to be able to assure them you did your job so no one else steps in to do it for you.”</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t mention Tywin Lannister’s name and yet he might have been sitting in the room right next to her from the way Cassel and every officer in the room’s spine straightened.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella held Cassel’s gaze but Robb glanced at his Dad whose eyes were wide, the creases in his forehead pronounced. There was fear there that Robb didn’t himself feel. He glanced at Jon who was looking down at the dogs as though trying not to smile.</p><p> </p><p>She was far too pragmatic to shoot with risk of missing. This was a move that could only be played once and he knew before Cassel spoke that she’d chosen her moment perfectly.</p><p> </p><p>“Ramsay presented a unique threat,” he allowed. And clearly tried to think of a way to save face in front of his officers, “Had any of my men arrived when the dogs did, he likely would have met the same end.”</p><p> </p><p><em>Perhaps you should give them a medal, then, </em>Robb thought but didn’t say. Knowing that gilding the lily would only ruin it.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sure you’re right,” Myrcella agreed, stroking Grey Wind’s head.</p><p> </p><p>“Perhaps that can conclude for today?” his Dad asked Cassel, “We can arrange a time for all three of them to come into the station later this week if you have further questions.”</p><p> </p><p>Cassel stood up and nodded, clearly as ready to get out of there as they were to have him go. He walked over to Ramsay, standing over his dead body and shaking his head. He then looked around and asked one of his officers about the pin.</p><p> </p><p>“In the bedroom most likely,” Myrcella said.</p><p> </p><p>An officer went in to her room and came out a moment later with the pin in a plastic baggy. Myrcella looked down at her lap.</p><p> </p><p>The coroner came in and took the body away and then Cassel and his officers filed out one by one.</p><p> </p><p>“Why don’t you kids pack some things, and you can come stay with us for a little while,” his Dad suggested.</p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t imagine anywhere Myrcella would want to be less than here so he nodded and he and Jon stood up. Myrcella stayed seated and he and Jon looked at her and then each other.</p><p> </p><p>The blood had dried on her cheek and was crusted under her nails.</p><p> </p><p>“Sweetheart let’s get you a shower and some fresh clothes, alright?” he suggested.</p><p> </p><p>She nodded and stood up but made no move forward. Jon placed his hand on the small of her back and led her towards the bathroom. With a glance at his Dad, Robb followed and closed the door behind them.</p><p> </p><p>Jon turned on the water and Robb pulled open her now ruined robe and discarded it, taking one of her hands and placing his other on the small of her back and leading her forward.</p><p> </p><p>She stepped into the shower, but any resolve she’d had seemed to have been used up in the questioning.</p><p> </p><p>“Here, baby,” Jon said gently, feeling the water before guiding her underneath it.</p><p> </p><p>The blood ran pink down her cheek and she closed her eyes. They set about washing her and she stood there complacently, letting them move her and turning when they guided her to.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll go get some clothes,” he told Jon who nodded, shutting off the water and then grabbing a fresh towel and wrapping it around her shoulders.</p><p> </p><p>He left the bathroom and walked into Myrcella’s bedroom. His Dad was already in there, staring at her bed. Robb looked too and saw the indentations Ramsay’s body had left.</p><p> </p><p>Without a word he walked over and dragged the comforter and half the sheets off the bed.</p><p> </p><p>“Robb,” his Dad warned.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t,” he argued. “He was in her fucking bed, Dad.”</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” he sighed. “I know.”</p><p> </p><p>“Do you know what -,” Robb broke off and looked for something to throttle.</p><p> </p><p>“She’s safe now,” his Dad said after a moment.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, at what cost?” he wondered. “She’s practically catatonic.”</p><p> </p><p>“Just give her time,” his Dad assured him and then almost smiled, “She’s got enough spirit. She’ll come back.”</p><p> </p><p>“I thought you were going to lose it when she threatened him,” he admitted.</p><p> </p><p>His Dad did smile then briefly, “I was just relieved it was her. You and Jon lack her precision.”</p><p> </p><p>It was true so he didn’t bother denying it. He went into her dresser and pulled out a bra and underwear and warm, thick socks, and then a pair of sweatpants and went into her closet and grabbed out one of his old sweaters.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you mind packing some stuff for me?” he asked his Dad. “I’ll get her stuff together.”</p><p> </p><p>“Of course,” his Dad agreed. “I’ve got to call her father.”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t think he knows,” Robb admitted. “About any of it.”</p><p> </p><p>To his knowledge Myrcella hadn’t told anyone in her family about what had been going on.</p><p> </p><p>“He knows,” his Dad told him, and Robb looked at him. “He’s her father. Whatever you may think of him.”</p><p> </p><p>“He hasn’t said anything to her,” Robb noted.</p><p> </p><p>“He knew she didn’t want him to know,” his Dad shrugged.</p><p> </p><p>“So he lied,” Robb suggested.</p><p> </p><p>“As did she,” his Dad pointed out.</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s jaw clenched but it was difficult to argue when his Dad was right. And he hadn’t said it with any judgment so Robb walked into her bathroom and grabbed her hair dryer and then grabbed the brush off of her vanity.</p><p> </p><p>He walked back to the bathroom and found Jon toweling off Myrcella’s hair as she touched one of the pearls on her necklace.</p><p> </p><p>He looked at Jon who shook his head so Robb put everything down and helped dress her, garment by garment. He’d undressed her this way, making a meal of it then, watching as her body was slowly revealed to him. Her bedroom giggle and the delicate blush were nowhere to be found now though.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s too cold for you to go out with wet hair,” he told her.</p><p> </p><p>“I can do it,” she said quietly.</p><p> </p><p>Jon glanced at him and they both stepped away from her slightly as she plugged in the hair dryer. She took the brush in hand and went to bring it to her hair.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>And so I took it down and he… touched it. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>“Myrcella,” he said gently, going to take the brush from her.</p><p> </p><p>She looked at him in the mirror and then turned and opened the door and walked out. Returning a minute later it took him a second to see what she had in her hand.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>She’s got enough spirit. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>He wasn’t sure if it was that or the anger or revulsion that caused it, but she raised the scissors quickly, taking her long hair in her hand and cutting it in one determined snip.</p><p> </p><p>She let it drop to the floor and then set down the scissors and dragged her brush through the hair that remained. Turning on the hair dryer before he or Jon could say anything.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you need me to pack for you?” Jon asked.</p><p> </p><p>“My Dad is,” he told him, his eyes on Myrcella.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll get hers and mine,” Jon told him.</p><p> </p><p>Robb nodded and Jon left them in the bathroom. Myrcella dried her hair efficiently and then picked her hair up off the floor and tossed it in the trash.</p><p> </p><p>By the time they got out of the bathroom, Jon and his Dad were in the living room, three small bags packed and the dogs faces and feet clean.</p><p> </p><p>They headed out to Winterfell and his Mom greeted them in the foyer, Bran and Rickon standing behind her.</p><p> </p><p>Rickon moved to step forward as soon as he saw her but his Mom stopped him.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s alright,” Myrcella promised. Determined to please everyone else, even now. “Come here, little one.”</p><p> </p><p>He ran into her arms and she let him hug her tightly, smoothing his hair.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m alright,” she lied, “But you keep Shaggy close to you, alright? Always. No matter what.”</p><p> </p><p>“I promise,” Rickon agreed.</p><p> </p><p>His Mom and Bran greeted her more gently, his Mom looking at him over her shoulder. There was nothing he could do except grimace and she pursed her lips, bringing Myrcella into the great room.</p><p> </p><p>They’d made a fire and Myrcella was put on the couch so he and Jon got on either side. It was getting dark outside and none of them were very hungry so the rest of his family filtered in and out of the room every so often, casting nervous glances at the three of them as they sat quietly.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella’s eyes started drooping and Jon suggested, “Let’s get you into bed.”</p><p> </p><p>She nodded but made no move to go, so Robb stood up and picked her up. Jon stood too and they walked through the house and up the stairs towards his room. His Mom had set up a guest room for her but there was no way any of them would be able to sleep alone.</p><p> </p><p>When they neared his room, something caught in his periphery.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon can you…,” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>Jon must have seen it too because he nodded and took her, but not before squeezing his arm. He walked her inside and Robb closed the door to his bedroom and then turned and walked down the hall.</p><p> </p><p>“Did you tell Robert?” he asked his Dad. He nodded. “How’d he take it?”</p><p> </p><p>“He got off the phone with me to call his sponsor.” Robb’s jaw clenched, worry churning in his stomach. Her father’s recovery meant everything to Myrcella. She’d told him once that it was the closest to faith she’d ever felt, watching an irredeemable man redeem himself. “That’s a good thing. That’s the process working.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb nodded, “I’ll call him with you tomorrow. Maybe in a couple of weeks he can come stay here.”</p><p> </p><p>“That’s a good idea, son,” his Dad agreed. “But you kids all need to get some sleep now.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb nodded not being able to meet his gaze and gave him a half-truth, “She needs us both right now.”</p><p> </p><p>His Dad shook his head and Robb didn’t have it in him to listen to a lecture.</p><p> </p><p>“I reckon the three of you need each other right now,” his Dad told him though, and then suggested, “And always.”</p><p> </p><p>“You know?” Robb gulped.</p><p> </p><p>“We had you and Myrcella married off after that first dinner,” he admitted, “But then it became clear that there was something there with Jon too. And then I watched you two give her pieces of your heart in those gifts and I knew. About you and her and him and her.”</p><p> </p><p>“Dad…,” he started, but not sure how to broach the rest.</p><p> </p><p>His Dad smiled, tears in his eyes, “And then I saw you and Jon at lunch today. It was like… well do you remember that time Margaery came to stay with us during that blizzard a couple years back? That dinner we had…”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Robb agreed. Sansa and Margaery hadn’t even been together yet, they’d still been friends. But it had been so obvious, so beautiful, the love between them. He remembered walking away from it and swearing to himself that when he found someone who made him feel like <em>that</em>, he’d never let them go. And now he had. Two of them in fact. And his Dad knew it. “Yeah, I remember. I know it’s not conventional…”</p><p> </p><p>His Dad’s eyes crinkled, “Look son, I know I don’t talk about love all that often, but I’ve known my fair share of it and… convention never stood a chance. Nor should it. Do they love you?”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Robb exulted.</p><p> </p><p>“Do they treat you as you should be treated?” his Dad asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Better,” he admitted.</p><p> </p><p>“And you do the same for them,” his Dad noted.</p><p> </p><p>“I try to,” he allowed.</p><p> </p><p>“Then the rest is horseshit,” his Dad shrugged.</p><p> </p><p>Robb laugh-cried, unaware of how badly he’d needed to hear that, and crossed the remaining distance. His Dad took him in his arms and Robb held him tightly.</p><p> </p><p>His Dad rubbed his back, “Everything is going to be alright now. He’s gone, she’s safe. And you’re going to get her through this. You and Jon. She’d make it through each of the seven hells with the two of you by her side. You hear me, boy?”</p><p> </p><p>Robb nodded and his Dad squeezed him tighter before releasing him.</p><p> </p><p>They said goodnight and Robb walked back to his room and opened the door. Myrcella and Jon were laying side by side on the bed, on top of the covers, looking up at the ceiling, their hands clasped.</p><p> </p><p>Ghost and Grey Wind were lying on the floor in front of the bed and he leaned down and pet them both before climbing onto it on Myrcella’s other side.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sorry,” she said almost immediately, as though she’d been waiting for him to return so that she only had to say this once.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t apo-,” Jon started.</p><p> </p><p>“There are two men that are dead because I didn’t listen to you,” she interrupted. “Two men that are dead because of <em>me</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“Two men that are dead because of <em>him</em>,” Robb argued. “Sweetheart you never should have been in that position in the first place.”</p><p> </p><p>She wiped a tear from her face, sitting up and hugging her knees to her, leaning her cheek on them and looking up at him.</p><p> </p><p>“Even still,” then swore, “I’ll never argue with you again.”</p><p> </p><p>“I super don’t believe you,” he teased gently, stroking her cheek.</p><p> </p><p>A single hysterical laugh escaped her followed by many tears. She glanced up at him and he looked down at her and nodded and she finally started sobbing.</p><p> </p><p>She buried her face against her knees as her shoulders were wracked again and again and again.</p><p> </p><p>Jon sat up and rubbed her back, angry tears dripping from his eyes. Robb’s own vision blurred and he covered Jon’s hand on her back.</p><p> </p><p>He moved it up Jon’s arm, pulling him and then their arms were around her and each other.</p><p> </p><p>A single person’s sob reverberated through all of them and then he felt one of her arms wrapping around his as her other held Jon’s head.</p><p> </p><p>He wasn’t sure how long they cried but it was Myrcella who stopped first, waiting patiently for him and Jon to quiet.</p><p> </p><p>When they did and released her, she pulled off her sweater.</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella I don’t think -,” Jon started.</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” she agreed, though she pushed down her sweatpants, “I just need to… feel <em>you</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>When I’m in your arms, and yours, it’s like he can’t touch me. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Jon glanced at him and Robb pulled off his sweater and then the t shirt he had under it. They all undressed and Myrcella laid down on the bed.</p><p> </p><p>Jon laid down too, pulling her into his arms, and he watched as she settled against him, their limbs intertwining. Jon took her hand and raised it so that he could press a kiss to the underside of her wrist, reassuring him of that vital pulse that was both their favorite melodies.</p><p> </p><p>He had never seen anything like Jon’s anger after Ramsay had disconnected the call. If he’d had any sense he might have been afraid that Jon would crash the car but his anger only made him more capable.</p><p> </p><p>There had been moments when he was afraid that he was going to lose them both. Myrcella’s arms had outstretched but so had Jon’s. One hand in front of his heart, the other reaching for hers.</p><p> </p><p>[he didn’t remember his own arms reaching out as well, shoving Jon behind him]</p><p> </p><p>He got off the bed and walked over to his closet and pulled out the oversized hand-knit blanket that was always on the shelf. They both were watching him as he laid it over them, tucking the edges underneath their bodies.</p><p> </p><p>Robb sat on the bed at Jon’s side, stroking his cheek and then hers with his other hand.</p><p> </p><p>“Touch it,” she all but whispered.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>She’ll come back. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>He touched her hair gently and she closed her eyes but didn’t flinch so he stroked his fingers through it. She’d cut it to just underneath her chin and though it would need to be fixed, it was obvious already that she’d wear it well. Not that it mattered, but it was something so stubbornly her that he couldn’t help but think of it and smile.</p><p> </p><p>“Come,” Jon suggested, “There’s always room for you.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s knuckles grazed his jaw, “I will, bub. In a little while. Right now, I just want you to sleep. Both of you.”</p><p> </p><p>“I thought of something else for the house,” Myrcella yawned, proof of the magic of Jon’s arms. The magic she’d always assured them of.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yeah?” Jon murmured, closing his eyes and pulling her tighter against him.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Myrcella confirmed.</p><p> </p><p>Whatever it was would have to wait until morning, because she fell asleep quickly, as though she’d long been waiting to. Jon followed quickly behind.</p><p> </p><p>In the morning Robb lied and told his parents that he’d slept like a log.</p><p> </p><p>The truth was, he sat up all night, in a silent vigil giving thanks to whatever gods existed – and a warning to any devils who thought to harm them.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I'd love to hear what you think!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0027"><h2>27. Chapter 27</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Okay okay okay, I should have waited but I just COULDN'T (if you haven't read the chapter I posted like... two hours ago go read that or you'll be VERY confused)</p><p>Thank you thank you thank you all for reading this story. I really didn't expect to love it as much as I did, I was actually worried that I would lose steam with it once the initial excitement wore off, but it has turned into one of my favorite stories I've ever written.</p><p>There were many things in this story I was nervous about writing, but you all made it such a safe, wonderful place to explore and try out new themes and problems and relationships and I'm really just so grateful.</p><p> </p><p>SPOILERS BELOW:</p><p>I chose to end this story here, with Jon, because of all of them, he was the most resistant to happiness. So I thought it would be especially poignant to see them all settled from his perspective, safe and content and in love.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>TWO YEARS LATER</p><p> </p><p>Jon’s heartrate slowed as he pulled into the driveway, seeing Robb’s grey SUV and Myrcella’s smaller black one in front of it. It was only 8 o’clock but it had felt like a very long time since he’d kissed them both goodbye that morning.</p><p> </p><p>He was surprised to find Myrcella home already. She’d been working late hours since Barristan took her on as his number two a couple of months prior, but with the most recent deadlines having passed he was hoping she’d get to pull back a bit.</p><p> </p><p>Jon stepped across the freshly salted walk and up onto the porch. They’d left the lights on for him all down the line, not that he needed it with the off-white twinkly lights he and Robb had nearly died hanging over the weekend.</p><p> </p><p>Ghost and Grey Wind met him at the door and he smelled something delicious – pot roast, maybe – and he considered going into the kitchen as he pet them.</p><p> </p><p>“Where are they?” Jon asked the dogs.</p><p> </p><p>Both turned and walked up the stairs, so Jon followed as they lead him to the large bedroom at the end of the hall.</p><p> </p><p>He heard Myrcella’s soft, bedroom laugh, and Robb’s protestations and started walking faster, craving their company.</p><p> </p><p>They were sitting on the couch in front of the fire, Myrcella’s feet up on Robb’s legs. Robb had their cat, Chatty, curled up on his chest. Even now the sight of them was something he wasn’t used to. The two of them, beautiful and happy, waiting for him.</p><p> </p><p>They both turned to look at him and Myrcella said to Robb, “Look at our baby.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb grinned at him and Jon smiled back, crossing towards them.</p><p> </p><p>“Who cooked?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Robb,” Myrcella gushed, “We’ll come down so you can eat. I’m sorry we didn’t wait, it was my fault. I was <em>ravenous</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“Good, I’m glad,” Jon told her honestly.</p><p> </p><p>She hadn’t had much of an appetite recently but looking at her now, the color was back in her cheeks.</p><p> </p><p>He crossed the distance to them and leaned down and pressed a kiss to her waiting lips. Jon moved to pull away but she leaned up and kissed him with more purpose. He’d never been able to deny her, never wanted to, and he held her chin in his fingers, deepening the kiss.</p><p> </p><p>Her hands went to his shoulders and then he felt her pulling herself up so he wrapped his arm around her waist.</p><p> </p><p>Her tongue licked against his and then her legs were around his waist.</p><p> </p><p>“Baby,” he groaned.</p><p> </p><p>“I need you,” she told him.</p><p> </p><p>She told him so often. Though they had eased out of the <em>rip-your-clothes-off-every-time-they-walk-into-the-room </em>stage, none of them had ever gotten even close to tired of each other. They made love more days than not, but even still he was not such a fool as to deny her urgency. Nor was he so jaded that it didn’t beckon his own.</p><p> </p><p>His hands moved to her ass and he squeezed it, walking around the couch and bringing her to their bed. He laid her down on it and she pushed at his chest so he rolled over so that she could get on top of him.</p><p> </p><p>She was a goddess and he pushed her cream silk pajama top up her stomach. He kissed her ribs and her breasts and he felt her hands go to his belt buckle.</p><p> </p><p>“No foreplay then?” he teased.</p><p> </p><p>“No, I need you <em>now</em>,” she whimpered.</p><p> </p><p>She pushed down her pajama pants pulling them off of her and he unbuttoned his pants and pushed them down far enough to release his hard cock.</p><p> </p><p>He felt her wet cunt on his tip and then she lowered herself onto him.</p><p> </p><p><em>“Oh baby,</em>” he moaned.</p><p> </p><p>She leaned down and her hips rocked against his, taking him inside of her again and again.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Oh gods Jon</em>,” she cried.</p><p> </p><p>He moved his hands down her back to her butt, squeezing it and then moving her back and forth on him. She was so wet and warm and fit him perfectly.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella kissed his lips and he kissed her deeply, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and rolling them over.</p><p> </p><p>He thrust into her and she cried out, wrapping his tie around her hand and tugging him closer to her.</p><p> </p><p>“You telling me I’m yours, baby?” he asked her.</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Mine</em>,” she cried, her legs wrapping around him more firmly.</p><p> </p><p>He thrust into her long and slow, licking up her neck.</p><p> </p><p><em>“Jon</em>,” she whimpered.</p><p> </p><p>He thrust into her harder and watched as an awe-struck smile overtook her face. Her head fell back against the bed, one hand stroking into his hair the other still gripping his tie.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re so beautiful,” he told her, “My lovely girl.”</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes opened and to his surprise there were tears in them, “I love you.”</p><p> </p><p>“As I love you,” he promised.</p><p> </p><p>Her eyes stayed on him and his breath quickened, her gaze heightening everything. He got lost in them, and in her, and they were just labored breaths and grasping hands and their bodies joining again and again and again.</p><p> </p><p>She didn’t have to tell him she was close. He could feel her, and he rolled his hips against her beckoning her orgasm. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were parted and he took the hand on his tie and raised it so that he could press a kiss to her wrist and then she was clenching around him and he was coming inside of her.</p><p> </p><p>She fell back onto the bed and her fingers trailed up and down his back.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you,” she smiled.</p><p> </p><p>He chuckled, easing out of her, “I think that’s my line.”</p><p> </p><p>He helped her up and she pulled her pajama top back on and then bent over to grab her pajama pants. He pressed a kiss to her perfect butt and she sat in his lap as she pulled them back on.</p><p> </p><p>Jon looked over and saw Robb looking at them, a small smile on his face.</p><p> </p><p>“And what about you?” he asked him.</p><p> </p><p>“I got a similar greeting downstairs in the foyer,” Robb noted and then looked at Myrcella, “Didn’t I, sweetheart?”</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella tucked her head under his chin and he wrapped his arms around her tiny body.</p><p> </p><p>“And can I expect similar treatment from you?” he couldn’t help but ask.</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s eyes wandered over his face and his voice was deep when he said, “Oh you can count on it, but let’s get you some dinner first.” Then winked, “You’ll need your strength.”</p><p> </p><p>“<em>Ruh roh,</em>” Myrcella teased into his neck and Jon chuckled, squeezing her tighter.</p><p> </p><p>She reached her arm up and stroked his hair and then got up from his lap. He stood up too, straightening himself out and she turned around and pulled his tie off for him and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt.</p><p> </p><p>He ran his fingers up and down her arms, goosebumps raising.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s too cold downstairs for just this,” he told her.</p><p> </p><p>“I’ll grab a sweater, you guys head down,” she told him with a soft kiss to his lips.</p><p> </p><p>Robb got up as well, much to Chatty’s chagrin, and stretched.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you want a glass of wine?” Robb asked, stroking her newly long hair as he passed her.</p><p> </p><p>She shook her head, “No I’m fine,” then grinned, “I’m high on you two.”</p><p> </p><p>He and Robb chuckled and Jon waited for Robb to cross to him.</p><p> </p><p>“Hi bub,” Robb greeted him.</p><p> </p><p>Jon pulled him closer so that he could kiss his lips. Having one of them always increased his desire for the other, as though he at all times had to achieve a perfect equilibrium.</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s tongue slipped against his and Jon sighed into his mouth, wrapping his arms around him.</p><p> </p><p>It was Robb who pulled away, leaning his forehead against his, “Seriously let’s get some food into you <em>quick</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>Jon smirked and took his hand and lead him out of the room. They walked down the back stairs, Chatty trying to kill them both by weaving in between their legs.</p><p> </p><p>“It smells so fucking good,” he said.</p><p> </p><p>“It might be my best,” Robb told him with a grin.</p><p> </p><p>They walked into their oversized kitchen and Robb took the pot roast out of the oven and placed it on the counter and Jon grabbed himself the plate and silverware that Myrcella had left for him along with a cloth napkin.</p><p> </p><p>She wasn’t in the room so he wrapped his arms around Robb’s waist, hugging him from behind. They both took such good care of him, and it was hard to remember how he’d ever doubted his place in their affections.</p><p> </p><p>“She got to me too,” Robb admitted, stroking his arm and leaning his temple against his as Jon kissed his cheek.</p><p> </p><p>Robb chuckled as his stomach growled and he sliced him some pot roast and piled on potatoes and carrots.</p><p> </p><p>“Wine, love?” Jon asked, stepping away from him.</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah I’ll have a bit,” Robb agreed, bringing his plate over to the big farm table that stood in front of the wall of windows overlooking their backyard.</p><p> </p><p>Jon filled their glasses halfway, pulling out a third in case Myrcella changed her mind and brought them over to the table. He sat on the shorter bench and Robb sat in the chair next to him.</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t watch me eat it,” Jon chided.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not paying attention to you at all,” Robb said, lifting his glass of wine and looking out the window.</p><p> </p><p>He turned back dramatically as Jon raised the first piece of meat to his lips and he coughed out a chuckle.</p><p> </p><p>“For fucks sake, you’re twelve,” he told him.</p><p> </p><p>“You know, I actually think I was more mature at twelve,” Robb told him seriously. “You were there, what do you think?”</p><p> </p><p>“Depends on the day, really,” Jon teased and finally did taste the pot roast. “Never could’ve made this though.”</p><p> </p><p>“Yeah?” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>Jon chewed and swallowed, nodding, “It’s unreal.”</p><p> </p><p>Robb grinned and held his wine glass out so Jon cheersed his own against it and they both took sips.</p><p> </p><p>“Do you boys need to go out?” they heard Myrcella ask the dogs as they came downstairs and then she opened the backdoor for them. “Brrrrr.”</p><p> </p><p>“Told you,” Jon said, “It's supposed to snow more tonight, I think.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well why wouldn’t it when I just salted the walkway?” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>“Thanks for that, by the way, I meant to do it this morning,” Jon admitted.</p><p> </p><p>Robb merely smiled at him and pushed his chair away from the table as Myrcella came to it. He pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her shoulder.</p><p> </p><p>“We have to think of a wedding gift for Theon and Ros,” Myrcella reminded them.</p><p> </p><p>“Separate houses?” Robb joked.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh my gosh that’s <em>terrible</em>,” Myrcella laughed.</p><p> </p><p>Theon and Ros had been fighting a lot. But they always fought a lot. Jon had never understood why until Theon confessed one time after a particularly nasty spat. <em>Foreplay</em>.</p><p> </p><p>He didn’t doubt their love, it was none of his business anyway so long as they were happy, but he absolutely hated fighting with Myrcella and Robb. It happened, it was bound to, three people living together and loving each other as much as they did. But it never resulted in the nastiness he’d seen from some of their other friends in their relationships.</p><p> </p><p>Jon had no idea what to get for them. He thankfully always had an idea for Robb and Myrcella, but he knew them better than anyone else. Knowing Myrcella she wouldn’t be happy with merely getting them something off of the registry.</p><p> </p><p>“We’ll think of something, we still have what? A month, right?” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella nodded, “Just about. I’m seeing Ashara for lunch tomorrow. She’ll have some good ideas.”</p><p> </p><p>“Can I come?” Robb asked.</p><p> </p><p>Jon grinned as Myrcella rolled her eyes. Ashara and Robb <em>loved </em>one another. Though Jon knew he held a high place in her affections as well, Robb had nearly supplanted Barristan.</p><p> </p><p>“No, you may not,” Myrcella told him, “We have things to discuss.”</p><p> </p><p>“Fine I’ll just have lunch with Barristan then,” Robb informed her.</p><p> </p><p>“Good idea,” Myrcella agreed. Robb looked at her and she shrugged, “I see him thirty-seven times a day.”</p><p> </p><p>“Well I don’t know what to do if you refuse to be goaded,” Robb lamented.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella threw her head back and laughed and settled it against Robb’s shoulder, twisting and tucking her feet up.</p><p> </p><p>“What other business do we have?” Jon wondered.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh so I called Repast…” Myrcella noted.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh yeah?” Robb asked with a smirk.</p><p> </p><p>“I think someone must have just cancelled,” Myrcella told him.</p><p> </p><p>“I’m sure that’s it, baby,” Jon teased.</p><p> </p><p>She grinned, blushing, even now embarrassed by the maitre’d’s affection for her.</p><p> </p><p>“Well anyway, we have a table for five on Saturday at eight-thirty,” she told them, “That’ll give me and the girls time to come back here and change after the ballet with your Mom.”</p><p> </p><p>“Saturday?” Jon asked.</p><p> </p><p>“With Sansa and Marg,” Robb reminded him.</p><p> </p><p>“That’s this weekend already?” Jon asked.</p><p> </p><p>He was really looking forward to seeing them. It had been far too long since their trip to Highgarden.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella nodded, “I know, it came up so quickly thank the gods. But their photoshoot is on the 17<sup>th</sup>which is… what?”</p><p> </p><p>“Tuesday,” Robb noted and she nodded.</p><p> </p><p>“What do you need us to do to get ready?” he asked.</p><p> </p><p>Myrcella shook her head, “Not much, really. I’m going to stop by the wine shop after work tomorrow and pick up that one Marg likes. Robb you have the label, don’t you?”</p><p> </p><p>“I think I do, actually,” Jon said, grabbing his phone out of his pocket.</p><p> </p><p>He opened it and stopped when he saw the date.</p><p> </p><p>“It’s the 11<sup>th</sup>,” he said.</p><p> </p><p>“I know, this month is flying,” Robb agreed but Myrcella was looking down at her lap.</p><p> </p><p>“Baby,” he said.</p><p> </p><p>“Yes?” she asked casually.</p><p> </p><p>He waited until she looked up at him, “It’s the 11<sup>th</sup>.”</p><p> </p><p>A blush ran up her cheeks but she merely said, “That has been established.”</p><p> </p><p>“Myrcella,” he grinned.</p><p> </p><p>Robb’s brow furrowed and then his eyes widened, “It’s the 11<sup>th</sup>.”</p><p> </p><p>“It’s… the 11<sup>th</sup>,” Myrcella smiled.</p><p> </p><p>“You’re pregnant? Really sweetheart?” Robb asked, pulling her hand to his lips and kissing it.</p><p> </p><p>“My doctor confirmed it today,” she told them.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh sweetheart,” Robb said pulling her face to his and kissing her happily. “My precious girl.”</p><p> </p><p>She cupped Robb’s cheeks and kissed him again and then they turned towards him, their cheeks against one another’s, identical depictions of joy.</p><p> </p><p>“Jon,” she said softly.</p><p> </p><p>He could still remember the morning they woke up at Winterfell, the day after the worst of his life. She’d been so strong, waking up with a determination he’d never seen anyone possess. Robb and he had been trying to keep her positivity going as long as they could, knowing that it would inevitably, understandably, wear out.</p><p> </p><p>It had been in that attempt, as they took a snowy walk in the woods, that Robb had reminded her she’d thought of something else for the house. At first he’d thought it was the cold that had whipped the much needed color into her cheeks, but then she’d told them.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>“Children.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Children,” he said. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Children,” Robb repeated. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>She nodded, taking a deep breath, “Not today, not tomorrow. But someday.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Children,” Jon said again.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>She nodded, “I know that it would be complicated but…”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“Not really,” Robb shook his head. “We’d find a way to make them understand.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>He’d told him about his conversation with his Dad. Told him that he thought it was time they tell their friends about all of them. He’d had a renewed sense of confidence. The kind of love that only a parent could provide, unconditional and unimaginable.</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“That’s not-…” Myrcella started and then stopped. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“You’re afraid I wouldn’t love Robb’s biological child as much as my own?” he asked. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>“I just don’t want to assume,” she explained in that calm, gentle way of hers, “No matter what, they’d come from my body. So, I can’t pretend to know how you feel.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Robb looked at him briefly and he nodded, because he did know how Robb felt. </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em>Robb turned to her and answered for them both, “We’re in each other’s bones. Anything that comes from him, or from you, is of my own making too.”</em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>A few months prior, when they’d been teasing him about how they still hadn’t given him his all-black room, he’d found the courage to tell them what he wanted even more than that.</p><p> </p><p>And as though Robb told it true, and all things between them were shared, they had both smiled and told them they’d been wanting the same.</p><p> </p><p>So Jon nodded, tears filling his eyes, and told her what he had two years ago, when she showed him that it was alright to feel the things he felt and want what he wanted, “You have given me <em>everything</em>.”</p><p> </p><p>And she said what she’d said to him that same afternoon, “And still far less than you’ve given me.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope that felt like a worthy end for our beloveds, thank you all again so much!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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